Water in Her Veins will be published by Viking Books for Young Readers on August 12! This contemporary young adult novel features a young woman who unravels a town-wide conspiracy when she moves to her late father’s family estate and begins to have memories that aren’t her own. It touches on themes of family, belonging, and generational trauma.

My debut novel, The Virtue of Sin, is now available in paperback!  It’s a contemporary young adult novel about a young woman raised in a patriarchal religious cult who is forced into an arranged marriage and must learn to use her own voice to stand up for what she believes.

My second novel, Where Echoes Lie, was chosen as an Honorable Mention for the Edna Ferber award, given to the best book written by a Wisconsin author, by the Council of Wisconsin Writers. It features the Cumberland Falls moonbow, a creepy urban legend, and a curious young photographer searching for a way to tell her own story.

My short stories have been published in  Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Toasted Cheese Literary Journal , Big Pulp, The Flash Fiction Offensive, and The Binnacle Ultra-Short Edition, among others.

Random Facts:

• I’ve always been an avid reader. Growing up, I wanted to be Trixie Belden.
• I attended Catholic school through 8th grade, and I have a fascination with religious beliefs, both mainstream and fringe.
• I’ve been married to the same man for almost thirty years. We met while working as bartenders at Noah’s Ark, America’s largest water park, in Wisconsin Dells. (For those of you familiar, I can still recite the closing announcement.)
• We have three wonderful adult children who don’t always read my books. I still love them.
• I previously worked as a youth services librarian and found being surrounded by books both intimidating and inspiring.
• I love to travel, especially road trips. Show me a kitschy roadside attraction, and I’m there!
• I am a HUGE B-movie fan! My family and I watch at least one a week, usually on Fridays, and always with themed cocktails.
• I have seen Ghostbusters more than a thousand times, and I both fear and long for irrefutable evidence of the paranormal. I do have my own personal ghost story – feel free to ask me about it!
• I will challenge anyone to a game of Clue – any time, anywhere!
• I am gluten-free out of necessity, not because of a diet fad, and I am still in search of the perfect gluten-free chocolate chip cookie recipe.
• My personal bucket-list challenge is to read a book from every country. I started during the pandemic and am closing in on number 100!