I don’t usually carry a bullwhip or always wear a slouch fedora, but I worked for many years as a professional field archaeologist specializing in faunal remains, and later as preservation archivist lurking in the stacks at a university. I’ve edited professional journals and society newsletters, and taught writing to university students. Before that, I was a newspaper copy editor, a radio deejay, and a riding instructor!
I left academia to pursue my lifelong love of storytelling. My favorite genres have always been fantasy, sci-fi, and historical fiction. I love to read novels that pull me into other worlds, peopled with charismatic characters and richly painted cultures. Myth and the hero’s journey have always resonated deeply.
In 2017, I attended the very first Story Grid Editor Certification Workshop in Nashville, with 18 other story nerds to be taught structural editing and the business of editing by Shawn Coyne and Tim Grahl.
Since then, I’ve worked with hundreds of writers, studied and practiced multiple methodologies and approaches to writing fiction, including Robert McKee’s live Story workshop.
More recently, from 2024 to 2026, I had the privilege to manage the mentor teams for both the SG Scene Writing Workshop and the Writer Mentor Program at their zenith.
I continue to collaborate with that passionate community of professional editors and writers and with a number of supportive writing and editing communities.
As well as studying storycraft and working with clients, I enjoy living in the phenomenally gorgeous Keweenaw Peninsula where winters are known to be brisk.