I was born in Montana and grew up in Idaho. My dad was a forester, so we lived in small towns, some nestled so deep in the mountains that sunlight never touched the valley floor from October to April. Rural life wasn’t for me, so after earning my degree in Interior Design at the University of Idaho, I headed to Seattle. There, I designed restaurants before starting my own interior design business.
I met the man of my dreams in Seattle, too. I married Kirk promising to love, honor and edit his rough drafts. His pursuit of writing led me to the craft. A long-time reader of romance, I decided to try to create one myself. The first version of Man of the Year took three months to finish, but my business got in the way of polishing the manuscript. I stuffed it in a drawer where it languished for several years.
In pursuit of time to write and freedom to explore the world, Kirk and I—along with our cat—sailed from Seattle on a 37-foot boat. We spent five years cruising in Central America and the Caribbean. I still wrote stories, but it took a backseat to an adventurous life. I was busy writing travel essays, learning to speak Spanish from taxi drivers and handling a small boat in gale-force winds on the ocean.
When I returned to land-life, I started a marine canvas business in Baltimore. My summers were filled with patterning, cutting and sewing covers and biminis for boats. One winter, I finally revised Man of the Year and sent it to an agent. Within a year, I had a contract from Harlequin American Romance. That same month, I sold the canvas business to pursue my dream of writing full time. I’m cruising on a sailboat again with my husband—this one 40 feet long—somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. My second novel with Harlequin, Baby on Board, was, of course, about a sailor who falls for a woman who is afraid of the water. It came out in January of 2009. Harlequin recently bought my third book which I am currently finishing. When not setting sail for another port, I’m writing my next romance. Check my blog for updates.
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