Welcome to my Messy Life

So thrilled to be here today.
By way of introduction, I am a Southern transplant—now living in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, but I grew up in Western Pennsylvania, just outside of Pittsburgh. Like most Pittsburghers, I love my Steelers (even when they don’t win), my city, and a good pierogie. Oh, and pie.
I’ve always been a writer, even when I was a dancer, actor, bartender, waitress or sales clerk. The first book I wrote was about a childhood crush— the 1970s heart throb, Tony DeFranco. I was 12. My second book was about a gang and a rich ballerina. I finished it when I was a high school senior. I tried for many years to get it published—and now thank the Universe I was not successful.
When I was 16, I took my first job at a restaurant that also had an ice cream parlor and doughnut shop attached—and that’s where I worked and was subsequently fired for being a little too creative with the sprinkles. My first job out of college was as a paste-up artist (now that really dates me) and the editor told me I could write for him “on my own time.” And I did.
Believe it or not, I’ve always been grateful to him—and to my college newspaper, for giving me those layout and design skills. I’m certain it gave me an edge when looking for work a few years later in the Washington, D.C., area, where most writers and editors also had to know how to do layout. I worked as a writer and editor for about fifteen years—until a major life event. At the age of 36, I had my first baby and my husband and I decided to leave the area.
So here we are. I launched a freelance career, published two cookbooks, had a another baby girl. I have two fabulous daughters—Emma, 13, and Tess, 10. A dream come true—both of them. Now, another dream is coming true: I’m a debut novelist. My novel SCRAPBOOK OF SECRETS will launch on February 7 and is being published by Kensington. Even though I’ve always wanted to write a novel, I’ve had to push that goal aside for more practical efforts.
Now I find myself balancing motherhood, food writing, and fiction. I’m an avid reader, love to run, do Yoga and Zumba, and of course, scrapbook. I bake when I get the chance—and cook almost every day. When we get the time, my family and I like to hike through the woods and mountains that surround us. We are blessed to live in such a gorgeous part of the country. As for me, I’ve stopped asking how this messy life of mine comes together. It just does. I am grateful.
Thanks to Joanna and the Killer Hobbies bloggers for asking me to join. In celebration of my first blog post here, I’m giving away a galley of SCRAPBOOK OF SECRETS. All you need to do is comment. I’ll take care of the rest. Please be sure to leave your email address so I can reach you.
About SCRAPBOOK OF SECRETS: A CUMBERLAND CREEK MYSTERY

Having traded in her career as a successful investigative journalist for the life of a stay-at-home mum in picturesque Cumberland Creek, Virginia, Annie can’t help but feel that something’s missing. But she finds solace in a local “crop circle” of scrapbookers united by chore-shy husbands, demanding children, and occasional fantasies of their former single lives. And when the quiet idyll of their small town is shattered by a young mother’s suicide, they band together to find out what went wrong…Annie resurrects her reporting skills and discovers that Maggie Rae was a closet scrapbooker who left behind more than a few secrets – and perhaps a few enemies. As they sift through Maggie Rae’s mysteriously discarded scrapbooks, Annie and her “crop” sisters begin to suspect that her suicide may have been murder. It seems that something sinister is lurking beneath the town’s beguilingly calm facade – like a killer with unfinished business…