Working on books
thinking too much
and always always
telling stories

My grandfather (that's him and me, up there) was a fisherman, so I sometimes say tall tales are my family inheritance. The truth is probably deeper than that, though. Stories are my currency, my passion, my best foot forward, my way of making friends, my hope, and my joy. My brain thinks best in narrative form. I guess that's why, even though I kind of tried not to be, I'm a writer. 

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I write stories that focus on flawed, deeply real characters who still try to do what's right, even if they frequently get it wrong. I'm fascinated by what families feel like and what home means. I love science fiction and fantasy and wish they captured more of what it means to be human, especially a human in relationship with other humans.

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Before I started writing "for real"—by which I mean back when I used to hide the fact I was working on books and before I upended my life to complete an MFA—I did a lot of other things (speechwriting, professional acting, graphic design, event planning, even business school...yikes), but the truly relevant biographical details are that I'm the mom of two little firecrackers, the wife of a total nerd, daughter and only sister of two overachieving brothers in an incredibly loving family, the human companion of a fetchaholic shaggy red dog, a graduate of George Mason's MFA program and UVA's English and Drama departments (go theatre kids!), and a person who feels most like herself at home on an empty October beach with worn-out jeans, purple hair, Birkenstocks, a book-world to get lost in, and a mug of tea—preferably one with a cheesy saying on the side.