I was an autodidact before I knew what the word meant. That approach allowed me to pursue any number of occupations before limiting the field to writing. But I firmly believe the thirty or so years spent on other pursuits as diverse as animal husbandry and real estate sales, brought something extra to my writing. The same can be said for having relocated eleven times; the culture shock attendant to a move from the Midwest to suburban New Jersey marked me for life. So did a return to Detroit after a long absence that saw the city rendered unrecognizable. These experiences also colored my writing, as did extensive travel within the US and on five continents. Music has been a constant throughout. My far ranging interest includes heavy metal, opera, Broadway, and all points in between. During the New Jersey years, I performed as a choral singer at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. During the Detroit do-over, I worked as rehearsal pianist for an exacting veteran of the American Ballet Theatre. The travels, as much as anything, ignited the long-withheld desire to write fiction. The “Second Chances” trilogy had its spark in the estimated two million words I wrote for practice and emerges now as testimony to my broad life experience and never-ending desire to prove myself in untried fields. I presently live in Connecticut with my supportive husband and lunatic cat.