About Me

RESEARCH TRIPS are paramount to my writing. It is important for me to embody setting and culture early on in my research process -- to experience a place through its flora and fauna, geology and atmosphere, art and architecture -- and to hear the voices of the people who I am writing about.

“No other kind of relic or text from the past can offer such a direct testimony about the world which surrounded other people at other times. In this respect images are more precise and richer than literature.” 

~ John Berger, Ways of Seeing

Influenced by a background in freelance travel writing, I add to my novels a dose of magic, myth, and romance, distilled and blended with captivating settings -- bucolic hamlets set in majestic mountains and dramatic river gorges, rolling plains, seaside ports, rustic inns, exquisitely crafted châteaux, flamboyant soirees, colorful markets and fêtes, mysterious carvings and symbology, ancient menhirs and dolmens. These all come together as inspirational backdrops for the journeys of those who had the courage, tenacity, and transcendent vision to overcome oppression and greed. I tell stories of divisions, rivalries, and love -- of hard choices and hard lessons learned. I hope you will enjoy the twists and turns and the revealing of secrets as you read my novels.  

I am a member of France’s Splendid Centuries authors’ collaborative, a board member of the Historical Novel Society of Southern California, and I live primarily in Ojai, California with time spent around the U.S. and Europe gathering a rich repository of historical research in a continued search for authenticity.

To learn more on my background, what inspires my writing, and my writing process, see the Interviews tab on the menu. Join others in sharing how my novels have impacted your life. You can join in on the conversation on Facebook or Instagram.