About me as a writer:

• My favorite stories are about topics that matter to women and families: how to raise our kids, get along with our husbands, organize our homes, manage our money and stay well. I also love writing profiles of interesting and inspiring people.
• I've won awards for both my personal essays and my magazine features.
• My most interesting project to date: retelling fairy tales, folk tales and legends (think Paul Bunyan and the Bremen Town Musicians) for PlainTales, a series of audiobooks for children.
• As a former academic editor, I'm fussy about turning in clean copy.
• The mere thought of missing a deadline gives me hives.

About me as a person:

• I'm married to an incredibly smart and funny assistant professor of writing and rhetoric named Quinn, and I'm the mother of two whippersnapper daughters.
• I skipped Twilight, haven't waded through all of Harry Potter, but I'm really into The Hunger Games. Oh -- and all-grown-up authors like Margaret Atwood, Barbara Kingsolver, and Tracy Kidder.
• I currently live in Austin, Texas, where we're doing our part to keep it weird.
• I like riding my bike . . . to the donut shop.
• I Tweet on occasion.