I'm an award-winning novelist, memoir writer and poet. I'm the author of three novels and one book-length memoir as well as numerous poem, short stories and memoir pieces published in a variety of in-print and online literary and cultural arts journals. I write about the poignancy of the human condition and the quest to transform the challenges of life that we all face into opportunities for healing. My favorite authors include Toni Morrison, Harper Lee, and William Faulkner because their work is both beautifully written and sheds light on the human condition in an honest, unflinching way. I have a B.A. in English and have been writing seriously since the 1990s. In the early years of my career I was fortunate to have been chosen to participate in the Loft Mentor Series program at the Loft in Minneapolis, where I my work was mentored by Sandra Cisneros, Jessica Hagedorn, Galway Kinnell, and Barney Bush.

2008, “No Country for Old Women” nominated for The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses; nominated by James Penha, editor of The New Verse News online journal.

2008, 1st Annual Italian/American Citizen Journalist-Digital Witness Content, finalist and third place award for “Non Parlo Italiano.”

2007 Fall/Winter Glass Woman Prize, “Vicky’s Secret.”

2007, Lambda Literary Awards, Finalist, Spirituality Category, The Singing of Swans (Pearlsong Press 2006).

2005 Writer’s Residency Award, Norcroft: A Writing Retreat for Women.

2000 Salvator & Margaret Bonomo Memorial Prize for Literature, co-winner, for “Valentino, Puglia, & Seneca Falls”, a personal narrative published in Italian Americana, Summer 2000.

1999 Colorado Authors’ League, “Top Hand Award”, Adult Fiction Mainstream/Literary, Finding Grace.
1999 Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Finalist, Children/Young Adult category, Finding Grace.

1995 Writer’s Residency Award, Norcroft: A Writing Retreat for Women.

1994 Minnesota Book Award finalist, fiction category, No Matter What.

1991-1992 Loft Mentor Series Award, fiction category.