I grew up in Northern Minnesota with four siblings (two sisters and two brothers), doing everything from riding horses and reading to fort building and paintballing. In the picture is me and Max, my Paint/Arabian gelding, who absolutely loved to move. (He and I shared a need for speed. When I would let him to go faster, he would literally jump from a walk into a full run.)
Minnesota summers are perfect for swimming, horseback riding, boating, biking, four wheeling, etc. Meanwhile, Minnesota winters, almost three times longer than summer, are great for sledding, riding, ice-skating, and driving on the lake (the best place to learn how to literally drive on ice, with only the occasional icehouse obstacle). No matter where we kids went or what we were doing, we were almost always toting along a good book. I credit my mother for inspiring my love for stories. She read to us kids when we were little and continued that tradition by finding wonderful historical novels to read to us during our homeschool lunch break.
My siblings and I each launched our own journeys into the vast and intriguing world of reading fiction, and several of us also launched into writing fiction as well. Personally, I didn’t actually start writing stories until my late teens. As I look back, though, it’s pretty obvious that I’ve always had a very active imagination. The proof of this could often be found in my purse and or suitcase, which was always heavier than anyone else’s. Why? Because I was the person imagining and always trying to prepare for whatever might possibly happen. Like on canoe trips, other people packed sunscreen or didn’t, as the case sometimes was. Me, I packed sunscreen and aloe (which I then provided to those who didn’t pack or borrow sunscreen).
I became known in youth group as “Mother” because I was the one who carried with me hand wipes, bandaids, and anti-inflammatory meds. I was so well known for this that once during a town parade that I was attending with my family, a kid from church showed up at my elbow and goes, “Can I have a bandaid?” I answered, “What size bandaid do you need?”
Other girls, they carried things like lip gloss, perfume, and brush in their purses. Me, I carried duck tape, windproof-waterproof matches, and a knife, among other things. Still waiting for a day I get to use those matches. The one time I would have used them, I had taken them out of my purse to fly. (I haven’t dared test whether TSA would let me carry them onto a plane. You know, because in the worst case scenario, they would confiscate them.) Lol. The duck tape and knife I have indeed used over the years. The knife I’ve put to use on everything from getting into boxes to making hot dog roasting sticks at a picnic.
Someone once asked me if it was an ungodly mindset to be someone who anticipated the possibility of the worst case scenario. I looked at them and said, “Pretty sure there’s wisdom in considering some of the worst case scenarios.” Well, whether wise or not, turns out much of fiction writing is over and over again considering worst case scenarios and writing about them. Lol.
So yeah, me and my imagination have been writing fictional adventures for a long time. It just wasn’t until my late teens that I started actually putting make-believe people into those adventures and turning them into stories for other people to read.
Over the years of enjoying reading fiction, my younger brother (my fort-making buddy and frog-catching partner) faced a dearth in the boys’ book department. Whereas I found romantic suspense or romantic action-adventure to read, my younger brother became hard-pressed to find enough good Christian fiction written for guys to satiate his reading speed. Even male Christian authors seemed bent on writing women’s fiction.
As I went from reading to also writing books, I was still confused by the phenomenon, until I began talking to Christian publishers at writers’ conferences. “Ninety percent of readers are women,” explained an acquisitions editor, who went on to tell me that if I wove romance into my adult suspense novel, making it more for women, they might be interested in publishing it.
Instead, I continued studying writing. After graduating high school in 2010, I went on to become a Craftsman of the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild in 2013.
I started blogging weekly on Biblical worldview and practical Christianity at whentherocksspeak, I wrote/co-compiled the book The Voices of the Pioneers: Homeschooling in Minnesota, and I attended Bible classes at Ellerslie Discipleship Training in Windsor, Colorado. I became a co-administrator of the Writer’s Picture Challenge and authored several flash fiction stories. Throughout this time, I continued writing books and attending writers’ conferences.
“Boys don’t read,” stated an acquisitions editor when I attempted to market my second novel, this one written for teen boys.
And, in 2017, a literary agent told me, “Books for teen boys is just too narrow of a market.” She also informed me the majority of Christian publishers were not acquiring Christian young adult books.
Another literary agent, Steve Laube, said to me, “You’re right. Boys do read. So go publish and prove it.” I took this agent’s advice, and here I am.
I write books for boys. Because, I know boys do read. (Note: Girls, if you, like me, are tired of romance-driven novels and are interested in straight up action adventure. You’ve also come to the right place.)
More so, I write books that delve into tough and sometimes complicated topics because teens need storytellers that are willing to write about the stuff that really matters.
I don’t yet have kids of my own (though I do long for the day when I am married to a godly man and have children of my own). Meanwhile, I assure you that this does not mean I am ignorant or inexperienced when it comes to kids, teens, or even parenting. I’ve spent vast amounts of time volunteering, nannying, mentoring, lay counseling, and teaching, and I maintain friendships with many wonderful people, including kids, teens, and parents, who are always expanding my knowledge. : )
I have lots of people, life, faith, learning, and travel experience, and I love getting to be part of other people’s journey of understanding their incredible worth in God’s eyes, embracing their true position in Christ, and accepting their full purpose as a child of God.
You can see more about my education here.