In fourth grade I used to get in trouble for drawing too much during class.

After graduating magna cum laude from Columbus College of Art and Design as an Illustration major, I worked in the graphics department of an educational publisher, and now I write and illustrate children's books. I'm represented by Linda Pratt from Wernick & Pratt Agency.

I've illustrated these picture books:
THE GOODBYE CANCER GARDEN (Albert Whitman & Co., March 2011)
DO YOU LOVE ME MORE? (Standard, Jan 2011)
OLIVER'S FIRST CHRISTMAS (Accord, Oct 2010)
DANCING DREAMS (Accord, Sept 2010)
CORA COOKS PANCIT (Shen's Books, 2009)
I've also illustrated for magazines, chapter books, dozens of leveled readers, dozens of greeting card designs, and hundreds of black & white line drawings. Some of my clients include:

Random House
Albert Whitman & Company
Accord Publishing/Andrews McMeel
Highlights magazine
McGraw-Hill
Shen's Books
Standard Publishing
Continental Press
Nazarene Publishing
Theatreworks USA
Christian Collection
Battat

I'm the Indiana Regional Advisor of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). If you're interested in writing or illustrating for children, I strongly recommend joining SCBWI and getting involved in your local region.

Some of my favorite things in life are my husband and baby, mochas, cupcakes, collecting picture books, reading, swing dancing, musicals (especially Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers), monkeys, penguins, mind-puzzle video games, and my faith in Jesus.

I grew up in Wisconsin, went to art school in Ohio, moved to Texas, taught English for a summer in China, and now live in Indiana with my husband, daughters, and a room full of hippos and monkeys.