I'm one of those kids who always wanted to be a writer. I'd say, "I want to be an author and a horse trainer" or "an author and a teacher." No matter what else I wanted to do, I always loved to tell stories.

My fifth grade teacher, then Miss Zagers, was the first one who explained to me about "Show, don't tell." She also scheduled "writing time" in her class from after first recess until lunch time. Pure bliss. She remembers fondly one of my stories, called The Centipede that Ate Boston. I still hate centipedes, though I've never been to Boston. I'm told it's still in one piece.

My reading habits as a child were eclectic. I went through a long mystery phase, from Nancy Drew to Agatha Christie. I devoured the young adult classics of my generation, including nearly everything by Madeline L'Engle, Ramona the Pest, the usual Judy Blume books, The Chocolate War, The Outsiders, The Bumblebee Flies Anyway, and silly fluff like the Sweet Valley High books. When I learned they were books first, I went running for Ian Fleming's James Bond and Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer series. I read classics, especially if they'd been ever been banned. I read Catch-22 in this way at 15 years old. It's still my favorite novel.

I became a journalist because it was a way for me to write every day and still be able to eat and pay rent. I loved - and still love - many things about it. I love talking to people, and I can find something fascinating about almost any interview subject. Deadline really was a rush of adrenaline. It also taught me word economy, that is, learning to be concise, not to repeat myself needlessly, to keep it brief and to the point, and cut to the chase. (Irony alert!) As a journalist, I've flown in a stunt plane, asked former President Ford a question at a press conference (he replied, "What?") and gotten seasick on a Coast Guard boat. I won a few awards, and sat through, by a conservative estimate, six trillion local government meetings.

I'm still freelancing -- no more government meetings though -- but I'm also spending time on my short stories and novels, and working as co-editor for fiction at the excellent e-zine, Literary Mama. My published stories can be found by clicking on the "Short Stories" link above. I'm also proud to report that Avon Harper Collins will publish my debut novel, All Happy Families in the summer of 2009. Thanks for stopping by. -- Kris