A few interesting tidbits about me

I was a single mother of a daughter, who is now a practicing lawyer and the artistic director for a youth ballet company. (Yes, I’m pretty proud of my girl!) When I went to college, my daughter was six-weeks old!

 

I’m now a proud grandma of a girl and boy.

When I was younger (much younger) I earned my black belt in Karate. I think this experience helps me write great fight scenes.

 

Our head instructor taught Arnold Schwarzenegger to use the sword in the Conan movies and worked with Sting in the original Dune movie. I met the Karate teacher who worked on the original Karate Kid movies, and his students who did the Halloween scene in the first movie. One of whom was the great-grandson of Davie Crocket.

I once belonged to a mountain man club and owned a .35 muzzleloader rifle. In the summer, we’d go into the mountains, have shooting contests, dress in period costumes, and slept in teepees. That was great fun!

In my prior career, I was a CPA. I specialized in working with small publicly-held companies. I worked with their financial auditors to create and write their quarterly reports. My first “published” writing was filing the financial statements I wrote with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission.

I’m a cat lover. I’ve always had a cat. The longest I’ve gone without one is 9 months.

My totem animal is a tiger. Tora means “tiger” in Japanese. The only poster I ever had hanging on my wall as a kid was of a tiger.

During my two-year hiatus from writing, I started studying Human Design. It’s a fascinating system that uses astrology, the I-Ching, and the chakras and can help us understand ourselves and others better. I’m using it to help make my characters more rounded. If we become friends, be prepared to provide me with your birth data so I can run your Human Design chart!

I love all things metaphysical and “woo.” Want me to swoon? Show me a beautiful crystal or other stone. I have a good dozen or more tarot decks and oracle card decks. My drum collection consists of various hand and frame drums. I miss going to and facilitating drum circles.

 

I’ve practiced Wicca, Paganism, and Goddess-focused spirituality. I love Goddess myths and stories. The Goddess, in some form, usually shows up in my stories.

I lived in my 5^th wheel RV for 3 years and traveled around the American West with just my cat. I loved going up into the mountains and staying for a couple of weeks when no one else was around—just me, my cat, and the cows. There’s nothing like waking up in the middle of the night with your RV rocking because the cows are licking the salt off it!

 

I now live in Southern Utah, near Zion’s National Park, caring for my elderly (in their 90s!) parents.