From Muscatine, Iowa, to Door County, Wisconsin, I’ve spent my life in small communities where people know one another, look out for each other, and understand that life rarely goes exactly as planned.

I grew up as one of six children in a family-owned grocery store, where my parents raised us in the apartment above the store. By the time we were twelve or thirteen, each of us had a job, checking out groceries or helping in the butcher shop. More than teaching us how to work, the store taught me about people, community, and the importance of treating everyone with kindness and respect.

I married young, raised two sons, and spent my working years in Michigan and Chicago. Like the protagonist in my novel Do Over in Pearl Center, I was divorced in my forties. Life changes, sometimes unexpectedly, but you just keep on keepin’ on.

I’ve always loved writing and acting, and I’m fortunate to still have both in my life. My second husband and I have lived in Door County, Wisconsin, for thirty years, where we enjoy life along Lake Michigan.

In many ways, the community I live in today reminds me of the small town where I grew up. I feel incredibly lucky to have experienced both and to draw from those experiences as I write about friendship, second chances, and the wonderfully unpredictable journey of life.