Books and storytelling have been the absolute love of my life for most of my life.

My first book, A Blue So Dark, released in 2010, and since then, my work has been traditionally published by some smaller houses as well as biggies like HarperCollins and Penguin Random House. My work has gotten starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Booklist, and has won the silver medal in Foreword INDIES Book of the Year and the gold medal in the IPPYs.

My middle grade novel, The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky, landed on several state readers lists. The coolest thing tghat’s happened with any of my books is that a class turned The Junction into their school play. They wrote the adaptation, directed, and starred in it. That book was about a folk artist, and they all created their own sculptures for the set. I was able to watch the productions online. Seriously: coolest thing ever.

I started out writing and illustrating my own books as a little girl at my child-sized rolltop desk, binding them together with little pieces of red ribbon.

My love of all things story carried me through college, where I studied both literature and creative writing. Along the way, I also studied art and music (a member of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils taught me to play guitar). As a grad student, I got my first taste of what would become another love: teaching. While drafting my earliest manuscripts, I taught private music lessons, and I also tutored k-12 students, helping them to improve their reading and writing skills. 

I opened my own imprint (InToto Books) and began to publish my own work. The goal was to farm out as little as possible so that I would learn the most from the process. These days, I format my own interiors and design the covers. I’m behind marketing and promotion.

If I don’t have a pen in my hand, I’m usually holding a cup of coffee…

As a publisher, my design and marketing work brought me straight back to my old loves: art and music. And the ways in which stories can be told without a single word.

My stories live on and off the page.

Today, I share what I’ve learned through one-on-one editorial services and online courses, including my Chapter Breaks course and upcoming narrative transportation resources. Whether I’m writing fiction, making music, creating visual art, or teaching, my life is built around stories…and I never know exactly where the next one will take me.