WRITING EDUCATION:

I am a Writer’s Support Scholarship winner and graduate of The Brainery: Online Speculative Fiction Writing + Resources, where I took a course in Short Fiction, workshop-style over a 12-week period.

I am a scholarship winner and attendee of the Writer Unboxed’s Un-Conference, 2016 for writing fiction. There I listened to the likes of Donald Maass, Barbara O’Neal, Juliet Marillier, and Lisa Cron give wonderful talks and inspiring instruction. This conference was over four days.

OTHER EXPERIENCES WITH WRITING & PUBLISHING:

I am a Binder. (I could tell you what that means, but then I’d have to kill ya.)

I am a Diana Gabaldon Fan Ambassador.

I was a book reviewer for several years and received books from St. Martin’s Press, Harper Collins, and Random House. I worked with a small PR firm called PR by the Book to review all sorts of indie books. I also received books that I selected from a list and reviewed them for Fresh Fiction for a year or two.

CLASSIC EDUCATION:

An Associate’s degree from Methodist University {formerly Methodist College} in General Studies. Honors Seminar student, where we focused on exploring Greek and Roman writings.

A dual Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Liberal Studies from Notre Dame of MD University {formerly College of Notre Dame of MD}. Graduated magna cum laude. Inducted into two honors societies.

Forty additional credits in an accelerated program through the Art Institute of Pittsburgh–Online Division towards a degree in Graphic Design.

I am currently in grad school at PennWest University, pursuing a Master’s in Library Science.

WORK EXPERIENCE:

I have worked with children in all capacities {pick one: babysitter, camp counselor, nanny, private tutor, child care group leader, Sunday School teacher, student teacher, substitute teacher, etc.} in addition to having my ed degree, so I have fairly strong opinions about raising children, as a result.  I’d apologize, but I’m not really sorry.

Besides caring for children, I have been an active graphic designer for over 20 years. My design work is under Bright Crescent Atelier. As a designer, I have worked as a freelancer and a jane of all trades while working for others. I can now say I have website design and building experience, using WordPress mostly but I do have experience with Blogger and Weebly as well. I’ve also dabbled in some Drupal. I am tech-savvy, so picking up new dashboards is really no problem.

Other work falls under the headings of library or administrative assistant. Often, library work, education, and design work have all converged, which is heaven for me! Other “trades” I have experience in include marketing, social media coordination, event coordination, art coordination, subcommittee head, retail and direct sales experience, brand coordination, and print designer.

For a more comprehensive list of skills and experiences, please track me down on LinkedIn.

PERSONAL TIDBITS:

What do I do when I’m not taking care of my kids, working, designing, or writing?

I love pop culture. I have worked in a comic book store, I love the comic book world and all things geeky and nerdy. I am an avid TV and movie watcher. I listen to a LOT of podcasts, partifularly true crime podcasts.

I am a traditionally trained artist as well as self-taught in many other aspects of creating works. I have started a shadowbox series which is super slow going due to not having a real space to work in my tiny townhouse, but I have loads of ideas for various shadowbox collections, which I plan on carrying out once I have a dedicated creative space.

I am a nurturer and a nester at heart that loves cooking, straightening up my abode (honestly? I’m a neat freak), snuggling down with blankets and books, movies, and popcorn. I garden, walk, and try to do yoga. I just learned how to knit, which I adore, have cross-stitched for years, and I’m eyeing up crocheting. Somehow, I am an 18th-century woman trapped in a feminist’s body. I can’t figure it out. You shouldn’t hurt your brain trying to either.