Writing under the eyes of Fortune 500 companies makes one a deadline disciple, a dogged proofreader, and a fussy line editor. For me, that’s where it all started.

Following a 31-year career copywriting for companies such as American Express, Newport News Shipbuilding, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Bank of America, Johnson Matthey, Stanford University, Bayer, and Caterpillar—among many others—I’ve finally aligned my work to my heart: fiction. I’ve been writing fiction and creative nonfiction all my life, but I’ve spent the past 25 years studying creative writing and honing my critiquing and editing skills.

I’m particularly fond of character-driven stories, regardless of genre. Having reduced my first novel by 483,000 words, I’ve learned some things about tightening the narrative, creating engaging imagery, developing characters, and building and maintaining tension.

I am a 2019 MFA graduate of the Rainier Writing Workshop at Pacific Lutheran University where I was the recipient of the Linda Bierds and Carol Houck Smith Graduate Scholarship. My work has appeared in The Write Launch, Griffel  and Half and One.