A CREATIVE CHILDHOOD

Raised Somewhere a Little Weird

Which, in hindsight, actually explains a lot.

I grew up in St. Augustine, Florida, back when it still felt like a quirky little fishing town with centuries of history, colorful characters, and a creative culture all its own. It was the kind of place where old buildings, marshes, boats, tourists, artists and local oddballs all somehow belonged together.

Creativity was always part of my life, although writing was my first real outlet. I filled notebooks, made up stories and generally found ways to keep my imagination busy.

There was also the clowning.

My parents were part of the local Sertoma Club, which had a tradition of dressing up as clowns for St. Augustine’s Christmas and Easter parades and other community events. Eventually, the whole family got involved. We weren’t circus clowns. A friend once called us “free-range clowns,” which is both far more accurate and much funnier.

Yes, the retired clown thing is real. I’m the one on the tricycle wondering what exactly I’ve been born into.

THEN CAME THE ART

Apparently Writing Wasn’t Enough

So I started collecting creative hobbies.

I dabbled in drawing and ceramics growing up, but visual art really became part of my life during the pandemic, when I started experimenting with wood burning.

After moving to Colorado in 2023, something clicked. I started painting more seriously in watercolor and eventually began combining it with pyrography, using color to bring another dimension to the lines and textures burned into the wood.

Colorado also pulled me deeper into photography. It’s hard not to carry a camera when the scenery keeps showing off.

My photography is almost entirely nature-driven: sunsets, mountain vistas, flowers, reflections, raindrops clinging to blades of grass, and those tiny details that are easy to miss if you aren’t paying attention.

COASTAL ROOTS. WESTERN HORIZONS.

Somewhere Between Saltwater & Mountains

Turns out I’m happiest with a little of both.

Florida shaped the way I see color, character and place. Colorado expanded it.

My first two novels are rooted in Florida — the fictional Crab Island of Killer Shine and my hometown of St. Augustine in Ancient City Christmas. These days, much of my visual work is inspired by the West: mountain landscapes, cowgirls, open spaces and the strange little details I find while wandering around Colorado.

My next novel is heading west, too.

When I’m not painting, photographing, or writing, I’ve been known to pick up a ukulele or mandolin, experiment with a new recipe, burn something into a piece of wood, or disappear down whatever creative rabbit hole has caught my attention that week.

That curiosity is really the thread connecting everything here. I like making things. I like learning how to make new things. And I’m happiest when I have more ideas than time.

LIFE IMITATING FICTION

Bailey & Tucker

Two dogs, two books & one naming tradition I apparently can’t stop now.

I moved to Colorado with my soul dog, Bailey, named after Bailey Hamilton from Ancient City Christmas.

A few months after losing her, I adopted Tucker and kept the literary naming tradition going. He’s named after Tucker Kowaliga Lee from Killer Shine.

These days, Tucker and I spend as much time as we can exploring Colorado together — hiking, wandering, and occasionally stopping because I’ve spotted something I need to photograph.