I have been writing stories since I was nine years old. I worked as a reporter for two small town newspapers, as a publicist for an auto salvage yard and an aluminum recycling business, and as the author for two academic reference books, one of which helped to launch the field of women's history. Then I ventured into creative nonfiction, writing grant proposals for the Sierra Club, the Minnesota Historical Society, and the Minneapolis Public Library. Born and raised in Minneapolis, I have lived in Philadelphia, Boston, and San Francisco.