I grew up near St. Louis in St. Charles, MO, where I attended the Academy of the Sacred Heart for 13 years. I got my BA in English from St. Louis University. As a corporate wife, I also lived in Atlanta and Northern Virginia before I resigned that position. My kids have graduated from Flager, Goucher, James Madison University and Yale. I have taught at NOVA, GMU, American University, and The Writer's Center in Bethesda, where I frequently run workshops on the novel. As a kid I was a voracious reader and liked to write, but never thought of that as a career possibility until my middle thirties. Once a month I meet with The Group, several friends who get together for critiques and support. Many thanks, also, to my agent Miriam Altshuler, my editors and supporters at Harcourt Brace, HarperCollins and St. Martin's, and especially to my extended family, both the dead and the living, who never failed to love me.

National Endowment for the Arts and Virginia Commission for the Arts Individual Artist Grants: Redbook Fiction Award: Library of Virginia Award nominee (both novels); Pushcart Prizes Honorable Mention: MFA in fiction: GMU Alumna of the Year Award: Washington Independent Writers Board of Directors: PEN Women Chapter VP: Empress For Life, GMU Creative Writers Chapter: Mother of three kids who all turned out well.