Creativity is the cornerstone of my being, much like the rustic old support beams crisscrossing the ceiling of the granary on my childhood farm in rural Wisconsin. It’s my foundation. It’s who I am. Who would I be without it?
As a child, I daydreamed. But mostly, I drew, erasing straight through my paper, trying to get what I saw in my head reflected perfectly on the page. I utilized acrylic, oil, pastel, and watercolor, and my artwork soon accumulated in drawers and tablets. Eventually, I graduated from UW Stout with a degree in Graphic Design. More painting ensued. I sold a few pieces at summer art fairs, but mostly accumulated my art like a chipmunk caching nuts.
I joined the SCBWI and began illustrating children’s books, including Maya Monkey, Mary Rode to Bethlehem on Me, and Mrs. Jones’ Tea Party, along with other collaborations with the Children’s Book Illustrator’s Guild. My walls filled like cars at a traffic light. My basement overflowed. I began to wonder if I could write my own children’s book, and I did—a cute rhyming story that kept my neurons firing at all hours of the night.
One day, out of the blue, I ditched everything I’d worked for my entire life and began writing novels. Was I nuts?
No. I chose to paint with words instead. I’d been creating scenes on canvas my whole life, so how hard could writing novels be? Okay, it’s been challenging from day one, and I’m still learning by reading and studying a wide range of books. However, writing a vivid setting or location and including all the senses is just like painting a pretty picture.
While on a retreat with bestselling author Jess Lourey, I received a book-in-a-bag kit—a color-coded set of small cards designed to help authors outline their books. Outlining is a highly recommended task, but somehow, composing scenes on paper for fifty-odd years enabled me to juggle literary scenes inside my head without using cards. Plus, writing by the seat of my pants is more fun.
Does a scene I’m wrestling need a dialogue break? Yes, I can visualize that if I’m paying attention. If I’ve run on with exposition for too long, I can see that the scene needs to jump back to the present. And as long as I keep focusing on the movement of my characters, and where they are in the scene, they don't fall off the page.
Jess Lourey created the acronym ARISE, stating that each scene should incorporate at least three of the following elements: action, romance, information, suspense, and emotion. Similarly, every painting requires a foreground, a background, and a focal point. The foreground is the most essential element in a painting, and the background often dissolves into a blur. However, it’s still important, just like it’s necessary to make your secondary characters pop like a literary highlight.
Sometimes scenes just clash on a canvas, but that’s what I like about writing: conflict is finally good!
It turns out that art reflects my writing life, and perhaps yours as well. These days, I’m not doing much painting beyond cover art, but you can still find my art at https://
I have good news: A new bookstore in Naples, Florida, Books on Third, will be stocking my book and will host a future author event with me! Yay!
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