I grew up in the country with my parents, four brothers and one sister. We worked hard and played harder! Along with being outside and discovering the world around me, I loved books. I couldn't wait to ride my bike up to the bookmobile and get my hands on another Nancy Drew mystery. I loved our family trips. Sure we'd fight over who got a window seat, (I never won) but we traveled to Canada, the Smoky Mountains, Florida and the Bahamas. These trips inspired me to travel as much as I could someday. In high school I started writing and dreamed of working for a small town newspaper. One of my favorite stories from those years involved a haunted spook trail that a friend and I made to scare our friends. My first job after college was working for a radio station selling ad space. Several years later I worked in sales and management for the Toledo Convention and Visitors Bureau, and then for the convention center. I loved those jobs and the travel involved! I got married, and two years later had our first daughter Claire, and soon after that, our second daughter Kyle, and then our son Ian. 3 babies in 3 years. I quit my job. I loved being at home with my kids and taking them to the parks, the zoo, on nature hikes and the library. I wanted to share the world with them. My husband Brad and I began our mission of experiencing all 50 states with our children. I started writing for several local publications. Sadly, when she was ten years old, Claire died unexpectedly due to a heart condition. We still miss her big smile, her impish spirit, her love of family and friends. She loved to do all the fun things a girl her age enjoyed. But most of all she liked to read. We created Claire's Day to share this love with the community. Every third Saturday in May the Maumee Library is filled with the sights and sounds of children of all ages enjoying all that Claire held dear: books, storytellers, music, fun hands-on activities, and celebrating special readers. I met Anne Margaret Lewis at Claire's Day 2007, and from that little spark of magic between us, she offered me the opportunity to write Hidden Ohio, my first published children's book. I'm still writing for a local paper, still writing other stories, and my favorite thing to do is to pick up a book from the library. Sometimes I even ride my bike there!