Biography

Welcome!   

      Writing about the Alemannic Germans has been my passion since I first discovered them in 1990. I did a lot of research and wrote what was to become the rough draft of Book 1 and Book 2. Forced to set the project aside when I began teaching full time, I revived the project when I retired from teaching elementary school in California and moved to Colorado with my husband, Bill. I live here now with him, our two children, two grandchildren, two dogs, and two cats.

        When I began writing again, I was surprised and delighted to discover my connection to the Alemanni was still there. I can also indulge my other two passions, art and research. I have done all the art work for my books and spend one day a week with a wonderful group of artist-friends working on projects. I also take lessons at Schissler's Academy of Fine Arts. Fact-finding for my books is a fascinating pastime. There was no internet when I first began writing and had to rely heavily on local libraries and microfiche. Now I have a world of research from around the globe at my fingertips, and I haunt used book sales and stores.

     When I say writing about the Alemanni is my passion, I mean that in the truest sense of the word. I think about them throughout the day from when I first awaken in the morning to when I fall asleep at night. I must dream about them because when I wake up I often have the answer to a difficult literary issue, but I don't remember any dreams. When I am composing, I can see in my mind their surroundings, feel the sunshine and the cold wind, hear their conversations and the battles, smell the blood, wood fires and the horses, and feel their fears, anger, and joy. This makes it surprisingly difficult to put into words. At times here is too much to tell, and I feel like I need to stop and tell the reader, "Well, you just had to be there."

     The Alemanni have a fascinating and, at times, tragic history whose time as proud warriors and a courageous people continues into the eighth century. I intend to tell their entire story. That's a lot of writing, and I'm loving it!

     The story about the Alemanni is told as a historical fiction in a series of trilogies under the overarching title of The King's Chain. The first book, White Horse, Black Raven, is available in paperback from Amazon and as a Kindle e-book. The second book, The Justice of Revenge, will be available late winter 2016. I have just started writing the third book, as yet untitled.