A little more about me: I can credit a Girl Scout project when our troop helped produce a little newsletter in elementary school for sparking my interest in journalism.
By the time I went to Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, journalism was a major, along with minors in political science and economics. And thanks to a Dow Jones internship, I began my career as a copy editor, then later mixing in reporting in Chicago and Detroit. But it was editing and writing for children that became my joy and profession. Interviewing anyone with young readers' questions, as well as seeing news stories through a young person's eyes sharpened my writing and editing skills. I now have worked on several books for students, including "G is for Galaxy" (Sleeping Bear Press), "Authors by Request" (Beyond Words) and several biographies with co-author Janis Campbell. In 2019, we teamed up again for profiles on Reese Witherspoon and Kamala Harris for Lucent Press, inspiring women for young (and older) people. And more recently, a 4-book series, also with Campbell, a civics package for young readers including fun facts on the Constitution, the White House, and the Presidency (Bearport). My first book -- "Why is a Barn Red?" came from that young reader's question. Explaining complex and current event issues is still challenging, but something I can really enjoy. Often reporting or writing for adults or children meant asking those questions and seeing the everyday through kids' eyes -- whether it was an Olympic performance, a NASA development, voting in an election, or an environmental crisis. It meant translating what was happening right now and getting to the heart of the matter.
