Like many writers, I penned my first story at a young age. However, a family and a teaching career put my writing dreams on hold until my Advanced Placement seniors conned me into writing my first complete manuscript. That story, which subsequently won RWA's Golden Heart Award in 2006, was THE WATCHER. From the moment I put my fingers to the keyboard, the barrier between my brain and the paper lifted, the story flew from my mind, and I fell in love with everything about the process of writing. Raised as an Army brat, I lived in Germany as a child, Northern Virginia, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Idaho, and Utah before finally settling in Northern California. Whenever I visit my sister in Virginia or my brothers in North Carolina and Florida, upon returning home I remember again why I love Northern California, home of the ancient redwoods, the fecund forests and the rugged Pacific coastline.