Biography
The sky is bigger where I come from.
When I was a child, I’d stand in the sun where the land was so flat and the horizon so far I could make out the curvature of the earth. That bright daytime vision did nothing to banish my nighttime terrors—the witch in my closet and the monster under my bed.
Even today, the war between my days and nights is reflected in my books. The light and shadows are always there—lurking just out of sight in sly imitation of my demons of the dark.
These opposing factions are reflected in the fact that I'm an Okie who moved to New York two years after I graduated from college. A radical change for the nice girl from Oklahoma.
Since that time I've published 44 books of fiction and non-fiction for children and adults. I began my first novel in Greenwich Village, then moved to Venice, California, the place I still call home.
After "Gentlemen Callers," (now a triple-sizzled version available on Kindle and Nook called "HER GENTLEMEN CALLERS") I wrote three more novels for adults, then fell into writing children’s books for the age group of my sons—7 to 12. I published 26 Which Way Books with a partner under the name of R.G. Austin, then wrote more children’s books before moving back into the adult market with “THE WRITER'S GUIDE TO CRAFTING STORIES FOR CHILDREN” and "THE ART AND CRAFT OF STORYTELLING"—both books on how to craft fiction and narrative non-fiction for children and adults.
In between writing and editing, I've taught seminars at the Big Sur Fiction Writing Workshops, the University of Georgia and at the Media Development Authority in Singapore.
Today I live near the ocean where I write and edit, work in the garden, play with my dog along the beach and spend time with friends. And when night comes, I never forget to close my closet doors.