I learned to roller skate as soon as I could walk - my parents owned a skating rink in Pennsylvania, where I competed in both speed and artistic skating. Later in life, I taught rollerskating for many years. My first sale as a writer was an article about - what else? - rollerskating! My next great passion is music - I started piano lessons when I was six years old, and organ lessons at age nine. Live organ music at the roller rink was my first professional "gig" as a musician. I also taught piano and organ lessons for over twenty years, published articles for music magazines, and wrote a "How To Read Music" book for an adult education course I teach at a local community college. After serving as editor for numerous newsletters, editing and formatting other writer's manuscripts, completing a mystery novel and many, many short stories, I took the plunge and went into business for myself. My business partner, Susan Budavari, and I formed Red Coyote Press, a small publisher specializing in mysteries. To date, we have two short story anthologies on the market: "Medley of Murder" (September 2005) and "Map of Murder" (February 2007).

President of the Desert Sleuths Chapter of Sisters in Crime; member of the Short Fiction Mystery Society; the Arizona Book Publishers Association; the Tempe Charter Chapter of the American Business Women's Association; the Mesa Writer's Guild; the South Phoenix Chapter of the Women of the Moose; the Roosevelt Neighborhood Women's Club; and the Volunteer Non-profit Service Association.
I received a B.A. with a major in French from Ithaca College, Diplome Degre Superieur from the Institut Culturel International de Vichy, Pennsylvania Instructional I teaching cerification from Millerville University, and over 50 continuing education credits from the American Business Women's Association.
Several of my short stories and novel excerpts have won awards from writing contests, including ByLine Magazine and The Great Blue Beacon Newsletter. Three of my short stories have been published in anthologies: "Ephemera" (Medley of Murder, 2005); "What Ever Happened to Sandy Kloss?" (By the Chimney With Care, 2006); "Death At The Dumpster" (Map of Murder, 2007). My nonfiction works have appeared in magazines as varied as Arizona Senior World, KidsToday, Music For the Love Of It, and Mystery Readers Journal.

I'm currently seeking an agent and publisher for the Missy Jenkins mystery series, set in the late 1970's and early 1980's. Protagonist Missy Jenkins is a piano teacher in Middletown, Pennsylvania, a small town along the Susquehanna River in south-central PA. The first book revolves around a missing child, and takes place during the 1979 incident which caused an evacuation of the area around the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant. The second book in the series, "Murder in 3/4 Time," deals with the murder of one of Missy's neighbors who led a secret life. The third is a work-in-progress set in June, 1980 and tentatively titled "Wretched Recital."

Red Coyote Press
Phoenix, Arizona publisher specializing in mysteries. Two titles available: Medley of Murder (2005) and Map of Murder (2007). Both are anthologies of short stories in the mystery/suspense genre.

Desert Sleuths Chapter of Sisters in Crime
Phoenix Chapter, sponsors of the July Write Now! Conferences. Monthly meetings (Jan. - Nov.) in Scottsdale, AZ at Cafe Carumba (7303 E. Indian School Rd.) at 6:00 pm for dinner and business; speakers at 7:00 pm.

Wolfmont Publishing
By the Chimney With Care is a grand endeavor...A crime anthology which benefits Toys For Tots.

Women of the Moose
A fraternal organization, the Women of the Moose support Moose charities, including Mooseheart (their Child City) and Moosehaven (their retirement community).