A Little About Me

My first published poem (about my brother's newspaper route) was printed in a local newspaper when I was 13. Since then, I have continued to publish more poems, essays, book reviews, articles, and short stories in magazines, anthologies, literary journals, academic journals, websites, and trade publications. Most of my work is humorous. (Think criminal squirrels and Elvis haircuts.) I've been published in the U.S., as well as in Canada and England. Once I even had a 200-word romance story published on a coffee can label! (Alas, they were bought out by another company and I never sold them another story.) I am a member of several writing organizations, including Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, Sisters in Crime and Northern Colorado Writers.

My entry into the world of jewelry making and beading was much later with my first design published in my mid-thirties. I had created jewelry before that, but it never occurred to me to "do" anything with it. The first design I submitted to a magazine was accepted and I quickly found myself working on new designs every month. I now design and write regularly for several publications. In 2007, I helped launch Beading Daily, an online newsletter of 100,000+ readers that is published by Interweave. (It was only about 1,500 readers when I started!) After two years as editor, I am now a full-time freelancer. You can learn a little more about me in this nice interview by my friend Jean Yates or by reading my blog.