About the Author
It would be fun to have a real picture of Hayward, Iowa, to share with you but that is not possible. Hayward is a totally fictitious town created for these stories. I grew up in Littleton, Colorado, when it very much fit its name. I can vividly remember shyly hiding behind my mother’s skirts while she stopped and chatted with friends as she walked around town running her errands. And, for my family, almost everything was within walking distance - church, grocery store, drug store, theater, library, doctor’s office, city hall, coffee shop, hardware store, clothing store, and, of course, the elementary school. There was a city park that was filled with a variety of activities for different holidays. There was a swimming pool for summer fun and a lake that froze if the weather was frigid for long enough.
To me it was a safe place to grow up. Children always walked to school alone or with friends. We went to the movies on Saturdays without parents tagging along. And, of course, trick-or-treating was strictly a children’s activity done joyfully running to as many houses as possible without a parent following along for safety reasons.
People have asked me when and for how long I lived in Iowa. The answer is never. Since one of our sons and his family now live in Michigan we have spent many hours driving across Iowa. I have always enjoyed the peacefulness I feel as we pass through the green farmland. When choosing a location for my novel it just seemed right to place Hayward in mid-America.
I have always enjoyed writing and much preferred essay to multiple-choice or true-false tests. In addition to writing I enjoy counted cross-stitch, youth athletics, gardening, walking and traveling. I have been lucky enough to have visited forty-nine out of fifty states with Alaska still on the to-do list. I am interested in genealogy and have been able to take some family history trips including visiting Plimouth Plantation and England where my great-grandfather lived in the mid-nineteenth century.
My husband Bob and I live in Fort Collins, Colorado. We have two sons and two grandchildren. We also have two grand llamas, two grand alpacas, four grand dogs and three grand cats.
I have a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Colorado State University. While my husband was stationed at the University of Colorado in Boulder I obtained a teaching certificate and have been lucky enough to have taught ever since. I have taught all elementary grades except second grade but most of my years have been in kindergarten and first grade. I enjoy the wholesome honesty of the young children and love seeing the incredible growth they make both academically and emotionally. Having just retired after thirty-three years of teaching, I look forward to starting a new phase of my life and am looking for my volunteer niche in our community.
Please feel free to contact me at [email protected].
My book is published through Tate Publishing, a mainline publishing house dedicated to working with aspiring authors and giving their book its best chance in the marketplace. If you’ve ever thought about publishing a book, you should visit Tate Publishing.
