About

My story begins on a dark and stormy night.  No.  Seriously–I was born January 23 in the middle of a blizzard.  Legend has it that my parents barely made it to the hospital in time because of the dangerous roads.

I grew up (and still live) in Northern Virginia–about thirty minutes outside of Washington, DC.  We got cooler field trips than most kids throughout school–one of the highlights of every DC trip was counting the snipers on top of the White House, circling the National Mall trying to find parking, and eating lunch in the Post Office Pavilion.

I was reading proficiently before I turned five.  Mom swears my skills developed from my obsession with Sesame Street, and my Dad is convinced I learned so quickly because I made them read me the same books over and over.  I remember being so excited to start kindergarten because I couldn’t wait to learn new things.  I woke up while it was still dark, got completely ready, and sat in my Dad’s green easy chair reading until my Mom finally woke up.

I would check out between twenty and thirty library books every other week.  Every single one would get read–usually starting in the car on the way home.  I read while I ate.  I read while I was in the bathroom.  I read while I walked.  I would finish my school work as fast as I could so that I could read my library books.  My parents eventually made rules that I couldn’t read at the dinner table or when I had friends over.  (I would invite my friends over, show them my library book shelf, and then sit down to keep reading.  Why they didn’t want to pick out a book and read too was beyond me.)

I kept reading voraciously through high school, where I discovered fan fiction.  The first story I ever wrote was a Sailor Moon fan fiction.  (The second was Harry Potter themed.)  I found out it was almost more fun to create my own stories than to read someone else’s.

I attended George Mason University, where I majored in (SURPRISE!) English.  My concentration was Creative Writing, and I basically got to spend years reading and writing every single day.  If you’ve ever been to college–especially in a Liberal Arts program–you’ll know that kids can be incredibly pretentious when it comes to writing.  (One class, the teacher asked us all what books we read over summer break.  Answers ranged from “Tolstoy in original Russian, of course” to “Joan Didion” to “everything Hunter S. Thompson ever wrote”.   My answer?  “I reread like half of the Sweet Valley High series and the newest Harry Potter.”)   It was almost uncool to love commercial fiction, and even more uncool to want to write about it.

While kids in my classes composed “literary” fiction pieces, I wanted to write the books I’d loved reading.  Sweet Valley High.  Babysitter’s Club.  Nancy Drew.  Gossip Girl.  Harry Potter.

My fan fiction shifted into actual fiction, and I did a lot of posting on FictionPress, which is a site where writers can post chapters of their stories.  The feedback (both fawning and constructive) propelled me to keep writing, and eventually, Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous (after going through probably seventeen drafts) was ready.

Apparently, other people thought that Lifestyles was ready too, and I was thrilled to sign with Jennifer Mishler from the Literary Counsel.

Now?  I’m a business analyst and consultant for an IT firm and validate my constant shopping with a fashion blog.  I’m a born again Christian, have a close knit group of friends I’ve known since elementary school, and have an unhealthy obsession with Disney.