Osiyo!*
¡Bienvenidos!*
I am a child of the Arizona-Sonoran desert, the land of the majestic sahuaro cactus, roadrunners and cactus wrens, snakes and lizards. I grew up in Tucson, Arizona and lived there from my birth through my college graduation. Because Tucson is in a valley surrounded by four mountain ranges (the Santa Catalinas, Rincons, Tucson Mountains, and Santa Ritas) I always knew where I was by looking for the north-facing Santa Catalina Mountain range. Although I have lived in many other places (including Illinois, Iowa, Peru, Michigan, California, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and now, Oregon) the desert will always be my home.
As a child, I loved to read, make up stories about my stuffed animals and dolls, ride my bike, and spend time outside. I sang in the Tucson Honor Chorus and church choirs, took piano lessons from the time I was seven, and had interesting pets like horny toads and turtles as well as dogs. Books were always at the center of my life, and my mother used to joke that even though our family traveled to interesting places in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, I never saw any of them because I always had my nose in a book! She was right, but on one Canadian vacation I did get out of the car to take dozens of closeup shots of dogs and horses with an occasional glacier or waterfall in the background.
Saturday mornings were one of my favorite times because I had an hour piano lesson, then walked across the street to the Himmel Park Library where I returned the books checked out the previous week, and took an hour to find the books I would read in the week to come. I still think libraries are one of the most fun places on earth (bookstores are also on the list). That weekly hour at the library helped form who I am today: a person who loves learning about and engaging with many people, cultures, and worlds who I first met in the pages of a book.
¡Bienvenidos!*
I am a child of the Arizona-Sonoran desert, the land of the majestic sahuaro cactus, roadrunners and cactus wrens, snakes and lizards. I grew up in Tucson, Arizona and lived there from my birth through my college graduation. Because Tucson is in a valley surrounded by four mountain ranges (the Santa Catalinas, Rincons, Tucson Mountains, and Santa Ritas) I always knew where I was by looking for the north-facing Santa Catalina Mountain range. Although I have lived in many other places (including Illinois, Iowa, Peru, Michigan, California, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and now, Oregon) the desert will always be my home.
As a child, I loved to read, make up stories about my stuffed animals and dolls, ride my bike, and spend time outside. I sang in the Tucson Honor Chorus and church choirs, took piano lessons from the time I was seven, and had interesting pets like horny toads and turtles as well as dogs. Books were always at the center of my life, and my mother used to joke that even though our family traveled to interesting places in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, I never saw any of them because I always had my nose in a book! She was right, but on one Canadian vacation I did get out of the car to take dozens of closeup shots of dogs and horses with an occasional glacier or waterfall in the background.
Saturday mornings were one of my favorite times because I had an hour piano lesson, then walked across the street to the Himmel Park Library where I returned the books checked out the previous week, and took an hour to find the books I would read in the week to come. I still think libraries are one of the most fun places on earth (bookstores are also on the list). That weekly hour at the library helped form who I am today: a person who loves learning about and engaging with many people, cultures, and worlds who I first met in the pages of a book.
In junior high I wrote short stories and poems. On the long walk to school each day my friends and I told each other book and movie plots, which though I didn't realize it then was great practice for narrative voice and pacing (writing concepts I didn't learn until much later). At Sahuaro High School I acted in plays, participated in Model United Nations, competed with the Speech Squad and served as a Student Council officer. I took lots of art classes, loved Journalism and spent hours on creative writing projects in English and Humanities classes. In my free time I read voraciously. For Christmas one year I put together a small book of my short stories and poetry with simple illustrations for family and friends.
At the University of Arizona my favorite classes were Geology, Acting, Creative Writing, and piano performance. I played volleyball every Sunday night with a group of friends, sang in the church choir, hiked in the desert and mountains around Tucson, spent two summers working at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, and worked as an assistant minister during the school years at two different United Methodist churches. I continued to write every day in my journal. And of course I was always in the middle of reading at least one good book. The day after I graduated from the U of A, I left Tucson to spend seven months backpacking around Europe.
At the University of Arizona my favorite classes were Geology, Acting, Creative Writing, and piano performance. I played volleyball every Sunday night with a group of friends, sang in the church choir, hiked in the desert and mountains around Tucson, spent two summers working at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, and worked as an assistant minister during the school years at two different United Methodist churches. I continued to write every day in my journal. And of course I was always in the middle of reading at least one good book. The day after I graduated from the U of A, I left Tucson to spend seven months backpacking around Europe.
I wanted to explore the world, to travel, and after that, to attend Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary north of Chicago to train to become a United Methodist minister. While in seminary I continued to read and write. (Do you see a theme here?) For my "Theology and the Arts" class final project I published a collection of my short stories and poems which I illustrated with photographs I had taken while traveling in Europe. After my seminary graduation I moved to California where I pastored a church in southeast Los Angeles. I began to write articles and church youth curriculum. My husband and I took a sabbatical year to Pendle Hill, a Quaker community, then returned to California to co-pastor Malibu United Methodist Church together. My first book was published in 1988. I wrote, contributed to or co-authored nine other books in the religious field. I began to write for children and young adults and rekindled my love for creating fiction. I retired from the ministry in 1999 to write full-time. My first children's picture book, Shy Mama's Halloween was published in 2000. I have loved traveling to schools and libraries to meet young readers who care about my characters and encourage me to tell the stories that are in my head and heart. In 2008, Charlesbridge published my second picture book, Priscilla and the Hollyhocks. In 2013, Leaving Home•Finding Home was published, Shy Mama's Halloween issued in a new edition, and Pelican Publishing released Arturo and the Navidad Birds. Arturo and the Bienvenido Feast was published in 2017. I continue to write picture books, middle grade and young adult novels and hope to publish many more books. In 2005, I moved from California to Massachusetts, and adapted to the beauty of four distinct seasons. In the summer of 2016, I moved back cross country to Portland, Oregon. Everywhere I go, of course, I am still reading and writing.
Although I did not grow up in the Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma, I have always been proud of my Cherokee heritage. I can trace my ancestors back to Elizabeth Coody, a full-blood Cherokee of the Long Hair clan born in the 1700s. Because my grandfather was enrolled on the Dawes Roll I too am a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. Locally, I am a member of Mt. Hood Cherokees and have served on their Council. Even though I live far from our tribal headquarters in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, I stay connected to tribal matters by reading the Cherokee Phoenix, voting in trial elections and watching episodes of Osiyo TV.
*Osiyo! means HELLO in Cherokee.
* ¡Bienvenidos! means WELCOME in Spanish.