I began writing children’s books while attending Patricia MacLachlan’s semester-long course in children’s literature at Smith College. I had an article (and some photographs) featured on National Geographic Kid’s website and a story (and several more photographs) published in Highlights for Children. I am the author of The Pen That Pa Built, which was named “The Best Children’s Books of the Year” by the Children’s Book Committee for Bank Street College of Education. I was also a featured author and lecturer at the first annual Tucson Festival of Books at the University of Arizona. In addition to writing, I am an early literary specialist at the children’s branch of the Kenosha Public Library in Wisconsin.