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Introduction and Biography

“Dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen.”  Orhan Pamuk

I’ve always been an animal lover, as has our family.  My mother’s side bred and trained AKC beagles.  I love all animals.

My first pet was a “horned toad” I caught as a child in Texas.  I kept him outside in a open box filled with dirt and water.  When he escaped, I searched for new critters.

My father was career military.  We were forever moving around the country, including overseas. 

I played with Poppy’s beagles (Dudley & Sammy) every visit, but I wanted my own dog!  My first domestic pet? A beloved turtle!  A year later, my heart broke.

Someone suggested the “flush” treatment.  My mother, however, wrapped my poor turtle in material from her sewing basket, put him in a tiny box, and we buried him out back.  I never forgot that day.

While in the Navy, I met a career Navy man.  He asked me what I’d like for an engagement gift.  I said, A DOG, & his promise that my pets would never be left behind. He agreed, if they were banned from the kitchen, & none were snakes.  I like snakes, but a new Irish setter & diamond ring cemented our bargain!  As we say in books, “And so it began…”

I sold my first book  to YES! an animal-loving editor.  Since then, I use the names of my real-life pets in all my books.  I’ve loved them all dearly–tiny or huge–especially my dogs.  Unlike my horses or birds or guinea pigs, the dogs physically protected me, a young Navy wife with children, from intruders…3 times!

Not all my canines had glowing police reports.  Some were heroes who survived past abuse to trust people again.  Others were gold medalists who made sad children laugh. 

All dogs–brave, skittish, smart, or “terminally clueless”–have gifts to share.  These real-life canine stories of my own dogs, along with a few fiction pieces, are my thanks to my readers and animal lovers.

Best of all, they have happy endings!  Happy Tales and Happy Tails to you all!