The Early Years

I grew up in Oklahoma City. Reading was a passion for me from the time I was five years old. By the time I got to the first grade, I was already writing and illustrating stories of my own. I spent long afternoons at the library reading everything I could get my hands on, but my favorite books were novels with horses in them. The Black Stallion. King of the Wind. My Friend Flicka. I read them all. Which evidently caused so much eyestrain that I needed these stunning glasses.

It Was All About the Horses

From the time I was twelve years old to the time I went to college, I spent a majority of my time on horseback, traveling to horse shows all over Oklahoma and Texas. I was taking college prep courses to become a veterinarian, only to be told by my high school counselor that veterinary medicine was "a difficult field for a woman" (can you imagine?) and I should choose something else. She said I had shown some talent for writing. So I ended up in the Professional Writing program at the University of Oklahoma.