The genre I came to later as a writer is first in my heart as a reader. Since childhood, where I carried two prized possessions in my little purse—a public library card & Bonnie Bell lip gloss—I have haunted libraries and bookshops looking for the next story to get lost in. Later, I pilfered my Mom’s paperbacks as a tween, where the romance genre hooked me and never let go. Romance remains a constant in my reading life, especially now that I’m teaching craft workshops in the genre to my students. I love all of it; from old school paranormal to romantasy to romcoms, I just can’t get enough of a well-told, swoon-worthy love story. It’s kismet that romance is also unabashedly inclusive, deliciously weird, and sincere in the best possible way. I knew that when the right characters started talking to me, I’d have no choice but to join the ranks of those lovable, longform sadists and write a novel.

After publishing several flash fiction stories in Woman’s World magazine, I started researching, drafting, and editing my first novel. Currently, I’m querying that debut, BIRD ON THE WIRE, a witchy, genre-bending paranormal romance set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Every Spring, I lead a study abroad trip to Ireland, where I continue research and drafting for the second book in the series, INTO THE MYSTIC. Topics of interest for the procedural, Irish-set, friends-to-lovers, he falls first, second book include: witchcraft; the history of bare knuckle boxing; seafaring fae & the Aran Islands; pagan & druid lore; the oral traditions of Irish Travellers; and the joys of analog, archival research in ancient libraries.

This past May, sitting at a wide library table in the cozy archives at the University of Galway, I thought how lucky I am to be able to immerse myself in the kind of analog research and imaginative process that no robot can ever replicate. I want to be a storyteller of wonderous, compelling love tales for the rest of my writerly days, for as long as the muse continues to visit my imagination.