From the time I devoured my first Nancy Drew book, I’ve been an avid mystery reader. In addition to sitting on the protagonist’s should as she solves crimes, I enjoy learning about different places and occupations: Sarah Graves’s Home Repair is Homicide Mysteries, Cleo Coyle’s Coffeehouse Mysteries, Elly Griffith’s Ruth Galloway forensic archeology mysteries, and Martin Walker’s Inspector Bruno, Chief of Police series.

After graduating with a degree in English from Connecticut College, I held an astonishing variety of jobs as we moved around the country, finally earning an MBA at Kent State University. I landed in sales support and management for the custom decorating division of a national department store chain.

On a bleak January day at the start of a major birthday year, my youngest a freshman in college, I opened a blank Word document and started writing my first amateur sleuth mystery. My experience in interior design and home renovation provided the necessary background for my protagonist, Lizzie Christopher, to manage both an interior design shop and historic renovation projects. I combined the Ohio towns where I’ve lived: Wyoming, Hudson, and Evendale, into the fictional college town of Jericho.

Several years later, What the Artist Left Behind was a 2019 Daphne Mainstream Mystery Finalist. I’ve published close to thirty mystery short stories, and contribute a monthly piece to the Writers Who Kill Blog.