I was born in Moorhead, Minnesota, but reared on a small farm in the southeast corner of North Dakota, seven miles from the hamlet of LaMoure. We raised cattle, sheep, chickens, and the occasional 4-H rabbit. After high school, I attended Minnesota State University Moorhead in the theater arts discipline for two years before taking a position as a nanny in East Rockaway, New York. Not long after, I began modeling and acting, but within a couple of years I decided to go back to school at Columbia University, from where I hold my BA in creative writing. This education provided me with the skills to make my living for many years as an editor in book publishing, where I edited such bright lights as David Rakoff, Anne Carson, Haven Kimmel, Jenny McPhee, Victoria Redel, Debra Marquart, Myla Goldberg, and Jill Soloway. With my second child came my first novel, What Do You Do All Day, and the desire to write full time. I co-wrote Laura Bennett’s hilarious memoir, Didn’t I Feed You Yesterday, and began work on A Fireproof Home for the Bride. Seven years, a move to the Catskills, and many free-lance projects later, I am thrilled to be back with St. Martin’s Press for my sophomore effort.