I grew up in rural Kansas, where there was plenty of time for reading.  My mother (an English teacher) took my sisters and I with great frequency to the library.  My imagination developed rather effusively; I was certain, for instance, that a little man with a poison dart gun lived among our the basement storage, that a very skinny civilization conducted life within the walls of our home, and that a Bengal tiger (somehow) hid itself in the school bathroom.

My two published books: Beyond Seaside and it's sequel Road to Havla, are now available for purchase on amazon.com and bn.com!

Beyond Seaside
Beyond Seaside is Book One in an absorbing tale of adventure for readers ten and up. It incorporates fantasy, humor, and plenty of suspense. The characters are vibrant and likable (except, of course, for those who aren’t). The story follows Will, who awakens one day to the worst kind of identity crisis: he is alone in the wilderness with no recollection of how he got there, or even of anyone he’s ever known. Awash in confusion, he sets out in search of civilization and answers. He finds civilization first. The colorful village of Seaside sits snug between the mountains and the sea. In Seaside, everyone knows everyone else—but none of them admits to knowing Will. It doesn’t help that he has emerged from a forest all sensible people know to avoid, or that odd happenings seem to trail him like a shadow. A cynical widow named Marna offers him board in exchange for labor. One of her sons—insecure, peevish Brenner—tries his hardest to make Will’s life miserable. But his older brother, Jornan, becomes Will’s most valued friend. Will also finds a friend in Jornan’s gregarious cousin, Kye, and in a runaway girl (Pascal) who is hiding in a ruin north of town. As time passes, he decides he doesn’t much want to know his identity, after all. He has good reason to suspect he wouldn’t like it. He also suspects that at least one person in Seaside does know it. When a magnificent ship arrives in the village harbor, a sinister plan comes to light; and Will is forced to flee for his life. Jornan, Kye, and Pascal join him, each for a different reason. The four escape into a land of legends—the forests and the mountains beyond Seaside. Here they evade pursuers, meet a good-hearted woodland tribe, and encounter a perilous enchantress. They make their way to the great walled city of Alton. Alton is easy enough to get into; getting out is quite another matter. All the while, Will moves closer and closer to the truth…whether he likes it, or not.

Road to Havla
Road to Havla is the sequel to Beyond Seaside. Both are absorbing tales of adventure and fantasy for readers ten and up. Vibrant, compelling characters, along with plenty of suspense and humor, combine to make Road to Havla an exciting read. The story continues to follows Will and his three companions. Their flight from Seaside is evolving instead into a journey to Havla. None of them actually wants to go to Havla…except maybe for Jornan, who is driven onward by a strange secret he learned even before he left his home. They all know Havla to be a terrible place—with black mines and slaves, blood-thirsty gangs of enforcers, and something quite sinister inhabiting the great castle. And…or so they’ve heard…getting there might be the worst part of all. But Will is stubbornly determined to try. Although he is still unable to remember his earlier life, he now knows exactly who he is. He’s coming to terms with it, which hasn’t been easy. He’s also coming to accept certain responsibilities. Most of these happen to await him in Havla. His friends insist on coming along. Their travels take them through wild, uncharted places. Things get really strange on a stormy night when they take refuge in an (apparently) abandoned cabin. And they become wondrous with the discovery of a legendary hidden valley. The return of an ancient gift, new revelations, and the gathering of an unlikely band of allies prepare them to complete the journey. They come finally to Havla…where they learn that they have been expected.