My Story

I grew up in a small town, attended a small Lutheran grade school and have a small-town attitude. I thrive on outdoor activities, write in my head and on the computer, and adore my family. Being a wife to one, mom to four, and nana to six keeps me grounded and current.

Even though I have a Bachelors degree in elementary education from Martin Luther College in New Ulm, MN, I only spent a few years in the classroom, both parochial and public. Being home with my kids was more important to me and being able to write when  the house was quiet was a blessing.

Until 1995 I was busily into writing, then my husband Tom and I started a group travel business, Tom's Christian Tours (TCT). My small-town attitude entered the jet-set age. TCT took me to all corners of the USA and to 75 different countries. We sold our business in 2013, but continue to travel. Travel has broadened my life and my writing. 

During the TCT era I did the following:

- Developed, wrote and edited TCT's semi-annual promotional newsletters which were sent to over 7000 homes.

-Wrote 20 motivational travel articles for Maturity Times, a hometown paper.

-Compiled and edited journals that our travel groups composed.

Before business ownership and travel replaced much of my writing time I did the following:

-Wrote Bible study curriculum for middle school students for the Wisconsin Ev. Lutheran Synod (WELS). The entire curriculum was called ChristLight.

-Developed and wrote devotions for Wellspring, a WELS parenting magazine, 1993-1994

-Authored two historical fiction books for middle school students: Red as in Russia and Measles and Love and Green as in Springtime, a New Life, and God's Will (1992, 1994)

-Researched and wrote 20 plus local historical articles for Action Sunday, another hometown paper.

-Interviewed individuals and wrote 50 plus human interest articles for Action Sunday (A couple articles received national awards)

-Contributed to the 1991 book, Fond du Lac County: A Gift of the Glacier

-Wrote two articles for Correspondent magazine: "Dealing with the Loss of a Child" and "Shipwreck Sunday" (AAL Magazine)

Since retirement I’ve returned to writing:

-Republished my two historical fiction books for middle school students: Red as in Russia and Measles and Love and Green as in Springtime, a New Life, and God's Will (2017)

-Wrote and published the third and fourth books in my children’s historical fiction series: WHITE as Christmas Snow, a Candle’s Glow, and Heaven’s Robe (2018) and Gold as October Sunsets, a Stray Dog, and God’s Good Plans (2020).

-Published my memoir, The Psalms in My Backpack