STUFF ABOUT ME

When I’m not writing, I’m probably drawing, reading, traveling, watching movies or musicals, taking photos, playing board games, or trying to claim the fastest mini crossword time in my family.

I’m a Michigander with deep ties to the Finnish-American diaspora in Upper Michigan, which probably explains my fondness for forests, weather, and squeaky cheese.

I have a BFA from Kendall College of Art & Design in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with summer studies at The Royal College of Art in London, England, and the Academy of Fine Art in Perugia, Italy. Besides writing, I’m also an illustrator and designer.

Most recently, I’ve been a writer-in-residence at both The Arteles Creative Center in rural Haukijärvi Finland, where I enjoyed a 1960s outdoor sauna in the woods with a cohort of creatives from all over the world, and had a chance to meet some reindeer at the edge of the arctic circle, as well as at Hedgebrook on Whidbey Island, where I occasionally dodged owls while enjoying campfires with a fabulous group of women writers from all over the USA.

RANDOM STUFF

I love writing to thundering rainstorm soundtracks.