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 thir more...