I grew up in a suburb north of Chicago with my mom,
brother and sisters, Rick, Mindy and my twin, Julie
(I'm 2nd from the right). I loved to play outside and ride bikes with my sisters and friends. I knew I wanted to be
a teacher since I was in 3rd grade and when I was in
high school, I decided to become a teacher of the deaf.
I went to MacMurray college, in Jacksonville, IL and when
I graduated, I got a job teaching deaf and hard of hearing students at Waukegan West High School. I stopped teaching after ten years so I could stay home with my two sons, Sean and Brian. That's when I decided to write picture books for children. After six years at home (and not a single published book), I went back to work. This time, I was a Hearing Itinerant Teacher with the Special Education District of Lake County - SEDOL. After about ten years, I started writing again and finally sold my first picture book, 1 Zany Zoo.
I retired after 32 years of teaching, so now I have time
to write and do presentations at schools and writing conferences. I still live in a northern suburb of Chicago
with my husband. My two sons are grown and have
kids of their own, but I get to see them all the time!
-- I can juggle.
-- I know sign language.
-- I love to sing & I do it all day long.
-- I do tarot card readings ~ ooooooh!
-- I am pretty good at word & number puzzles.
-- I-ay eak-spay ig-pay atin-lay (I speak Pig Latin).