Greetings! Thank you for visiting my site. I am a poet and children’s book author living in Powell, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus.

Previously, I have worked as a high school and middle school English teacher, an adjunct professor of journalism at Ohio State, a marketing director, editor of a company magazine, a member of creative teams at an ad agency and a hospital, a contributing editor to a computer magazine, and – finally! - as a freelance writer of elementary textbooks, magazine articles, speeches, annual reports, and patient education materials with such scintillating titles as Your Heart!/Your Lungs!/Your Prostate!

Besides being a “Jill” of many trades – or more precisely – one trade (writing) with many incarnations, I am also the wife of Mark, the mother of two grown daughters, Jess and Paige, and “Mimi” to Sara and Tyler, Paige’s children. I also sponsor children through World Vision, a Christian relief organization that provides health care, food and education. Their names are Safiqul Islam, Peter Molsom, Jepkoech Kiptui, Claudia Navilla Azpeti, Novinda Mulyadi, and Liang Wei Ma.

I hold a B.S. in English education and an M.A. in journalism from Ohio State. In my free time, I like to garden (my enthusiasm dwindles as summer progresses); read (mostly for my own pleasure and edification; I also belong to two chatty book discussion groups); travel (to learn about other countries and cultures); and practice yoga (which, like writing, is humbling, challenging and self-instructive.)