About

Welcome, Curious Readers!

Are you someone who …

… always wants to know what’s behind the locked door?

… thinks that cities are full of secrets?

… loves found and chosen families?

… wants fantasy grounded in real places?

… has wondered if ghost stories have a bit of truth to them?

… cries when characters finally find where they belong?

… still wishes that you could go on one more adventure with The Goonies?

… believes that curiosity leads to magic?

Then I would love to share my stories with you! I’m a Midwestern author who writes young adult historical fantasy and historical horror set in 19th-century America.

My Origin Story?

I was that kid who carried books around everywhere, loving some of them to the point of splintering spines held together with yellowed scotch tape. And I maybe got in trouble at school for writing my own books instead of what I was supposed to be doing. But that lifelong love of words took me all the way through a PhD in creative writing (with a focus on middle grade and young adult fiction). And I even got an amazing career in education out of it, teaching writing and communication!! My author journey has been quite the adventure, but I never stopped dreaming of one day paying book magic forward to readers.

I live in Milwaukee with my incredible family in a house brimming with special interests and ruled by two cats. My found family spans the globe, and they’re always willing to go with me to a bookstore or someplace haunted.

What Will You Find Between The Pages Of My Books?

WONDER

My world building and magic systems grow out of lore, legends, and landscapes that already exist! I want to create the feeling of walking through cities like St. Louis, Philadelphia, Milwaukee and thinking, “Wait … what if this really happened?”

CURIOSITY

Every one of my protagonists dives into research, sneaks into archives, or follow maps … ordinary, working-class kids with extraordinary courage who refuse to accept the easy answers. My characters don’t become heroes because they’re the strongest, they become heroes because they’re willing to ask questions. And they’re willing to question the power.

BELONGING

My characters refuse to accept the role history has assigned to them. Found family, misfits, queer joy, disability that exists without needing to be fixed, and people discovering there is room for them at the table … but sometimes, they have to fight for it. They also fight for each other.

HOPE

Not oversimplified optimism, but earned hope. History isn’t sanitized, grief isn’t erased, rebellion isn’t always easy, and sometimes life isn’t fair. But hope always survives.