About the Author

There are a lot of books out there. So, I am always excited and humbled when someone takes the time to read mine. Sometimes I will receive an email from an old classmate, or a stranger, letting me know what the book meant to them and it feels so good!

I spent 1990-91 in Burkina Faso, West Africa, with SIM, a non-denominational mission society. So, the book is definitely based on my experience but it truly became fiction in the process of writing. I was able to include characters and experiences that I did not have as a 23 year old single woman. My experience in Africa was so huge for me that I think it took marriage, a few deaths of loved ones, and the birth of our first child to put Africa into perspective.

After my husband, Chris, and I were married in 1993 we moved to Oxford, England, and lived there for four years. While Chris toiled in the library I commuted to Milton Keynes and ran the press office for World Vision UK during the height of the Rwanda crisis. It was exciting work and I was able to further travel to Uganda and Ethiopia in that capacity. But, Burkina Faso is still my favorite.

In January 2000 my first article was accepted for publication in the now defunct “re: generation quarterly” (not entirely my fault!) entitled “Left Baggage.” That article became the draft of the first chapter and the working title of my novel for several years. It took me about three years to finish the novel and it was published through Booklocker.com’s POD program in March 2005.

Publishing process & POD:

When I finished the first draft of UM I sent it to my former graduate advisor, Dr. Myrna Grant. I was on pins and needles waiting for her response. The email finally arrived and she liked the book so much she sent it to her long time agent, who also liked it! It was all happening so fast, it was so exciting!

And then, the agent died. It was very sad and unexpected.

I don’t have an agent. And, I spent a couple years solidly pitching directly to publishers. Finally, I published it through Booklocker.com’s Print on Demand program, which was a painless process. I was so happy to have the opportunity to see it in print after a two solid years of trying to find a publisher. And, I think the POD process makes sense if you know your audience and can get your book into the hands of people who you know will be interested.