I live and work near the small town of Parkville, Missouri.  It is just north of Kansas City, Missouri.  I grew up in Springfield, Missouri, where I attended Kickapoo High School.  (Kickapoo's most famous graduate is Brad Pitt, but sadly, I was there many years before he was, so I don't know him!).

I teach writing at Park University, and I also serve as Director of Academic Support Services.  I like my job because I am able to help people learn more and be better students in college.

I always liked school, because I really like to learn new things.  I earned my Bachelor's degree in English and education at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.  Later, I earned my Master's degree in Literature, also from UMKC.  To become a better writer, I took a writing course from the Institute of Children's Literature.

When I was young, I loved reading.  My mom took me to the Greene County Public Libraries in Springfield, and I always took home a lot of books!  I really liked Nancy Drew books.  When I was older, I began reading science fiction books and fantasy books like The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings books.  Now I like many types of books.  I read books about writing (Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird is one of my favorites), books about history (I really like Joanna Stratton's book Pioneer Women), and fiction books (like the Left Behind series).  I also like books written for young people.  Recently, I have enjoyed Holes by Louis Sachar, Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse, and The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood.  I also like the books of Vicki Grove, Phyllis Naylor Reynolds, and Barbara Robinson, just to name a few!  I like the Harry Potter books too, but I have to wait for my daughter to finish each one before I can read it!  Because I write history books, much of my reading time is spent in research for the books I do.  I like this reading, too, because I love to learn new things.

My family is very important to me.  I am married and have two children.  Both my son and my daughter are in college.  I'm glad they both like to read and are good students.  We have a very nice (but hairy!) dog named Sugar.  

To learn more about my writing, click the "writing" link.