About the Author

Born in Texas, my first memories are of farm life on the desolate plains of eastern New Mexico, where land meets the sky. We lived in a little pink house with a furnace and a potbellied stove. My age shielded me from awareness of the hardships our family was facing. My parents and sisters worked on the farm, hoeing mile-long rows by hand. My brother and I sometimes tried to help with our mini hoes, but more often played by the field or in crystal-clear pools made by irrigation ditches. But, as life would have it, I’ve done my share of weed pulling and cactus digging through the years.

Our home was full of laughter and love. There were fruit trees, lilacs, and flower beds. Besides groceries, we ate Mom’s homemade bread, home-canned vegetables, garden produce, and farm-fresh eggs. And there was a never-ending supply of peanut butter from the acres of peanuts we farmed. At night we were serenaded by crickets, coyotes, and seasonal bullfrogs. The flat, arid terrain that gave rise to dust storms provided spectacular views of rolling thunderclouds. Storms could be so fierce that we could get a lightning strike every time we said “a-la-peanut-butter-sandwiches.”

When I was eight, we moved back to Texas to a house on the outskirts of town. The field nearby ended in shadowy coves enclosed with trees and green briar. Roadsides were covered with wildflowers and bluebonnets in spring, dewberries and muscadine grapes in season. We saw occasional scorpions and tarantulas. I remember seeing at least one tarantula on the screen outlined in moonlight.

After several years, we moved to a rural saltbox house in Tennessee, where I learned to drive stick shift in a town with stoplights on vertical hills, and got my first job at Dairy Queen. We explored the smokies, waded in creeks and went tubing. Church was the biggest part of our lives. Mom eventually moved to mountainous north Georgia, where I visited during summers through college. For two of those I worked at camp as a cabin counselor and horse barn assistant. Besides leading trail rides, we put on simple rodeos for kids. 

In recent years I’ve become interested in country homesteading and gardening. I enjoy life hacks, wild edibles, music, and poetry. In the Preface, I briefly shared about my writing journey. As for the writing process and cascade of ideas that brought forth this book series, it’s the type of thing that reflects from God, beyond what our human frailty could come up with. And I believe this is the true Source of many such things throughout history. As Emma Orczy said of her responses to people asking how she came to write The Scarlet Pimpernel:

My answer has always been: "It was God's will that I should." And to you moderns, who perhaps do not believe as I do, I will say, "In the chain of my life, there were so many links, all of which tended towards bringing me to the fulfillment of my destiny." (Orczy, Emma. 1947. Links in the Chain of Life. Hutchinson. p. 51 via Wikipedia)

Besides writing, I have several projects in development related to health, wellness, and caregiving. 

I enjoy teaching about health renewal and assisting the body’s healing process with simple measures, such as boosting circulation with hydrotherapy. I also have an ongoing interest in moderate, feminine fashions through a philosophy I call “Natural Femininity.”

I’m currently in the process of developing a faith community group called ARCS, reminiscent of the study of God’s signature found in the Golden Spiral and of his covenant rainbow promise. The group will focus on the biblical calendar for its historical and prophetic significance as a framework for agape faith culture, while seeking to rekindle the fervent spirit that was seen among the early apostles. See www.arcslife.org for details and www.facebook.com/groups/arcslife to join ARCS.