The Wolf Experiments/Finding the Unicorn

Biography

Education: I began my journey as a career student in 1989 at Purdue University. I enrolled in the School of Humanities pursing a Writing/English Major. In 1990, I unexpectedly moved to Arizona and enrolled in Paradise Valley College, Phoenix College, and Long Medical Institute to earn credits for several different degrees (Veterinary, English and Psychology). I continued with these schools simultaneously and graduated with an A.S. of Veterinary Applied Science. I earned my C.V.T by passing the Arizona State Veterinary Medical Examining Board exam.  In 2000, I went back to school at Scottsdale Community College and graduated a special program for advanced veterinary technicians that focused on Neurology, Cardiology, Emergency Medicine, Canine Dentistry, and Equine Science. In 2001, I took the National State Board Exam to earn further accreditation to transfer to any state. After 2001, I finished several other programs and earned certificates for Physical Therapist Assistant and Pet Nutritional Counselor. In 2009, I joined DFW Writer's Workshop and began taking online refresher courses for developmental writing.

Other training: I am CPR and First Aid Certified, Black Belt of Taekwondo, Yellow belt of American Judo (although I haven't trained with either one of these recently), studied Yoga and Tai Chi for several years but now only practice at home.

Career: I have two jobs because these economic times calls for extreme measures. I work at a privately owned botanical gardens as the gift shop manager and event manager. I also at an emergency animal hospital. I've had plenty of strange odd jobs over the years such as: blacksmith apprentice, physical therapist assistant (where I worked with some of the Phoenix Suns), behavioral horse trainer, massage therapist, pet nutrition counselor, bartender, Activities Director at a nursing home, and I worked the scales at a landfill one summer. One of my first jobs I was paid for was working for a fisherman taping lobster claws as we pulled them from traps. My first job in the veterinary field was working in my dad's laboratory cleaning a hundred guinea pig cages. The most loved job was working at Whispering Hope Ranch in Northern Arizona rehabilitating horses from injury and abuse. Elk came to visit on a daily basis and I had frequent unexpected visitations from mountain lions and bears. My dream is to become a full time writer, which is what I would rather devote all my time to instead of the sporadic hours between jobs.

Pets: I am definitely an animal person. I've raised raccoons, owls, reptiles, tropical birds, dogs, cats, and horses. For information on my multitude of pets, they have their own section with pictures on this site.

Health: I was the innocent victim of a car accident in 1995, which caused me to spend a year in physical therapy, intermittently in a wheel chair,  and my normally active life was put on standby. I used this unexpected occurrence to my advantage, rewriting dozens of short stories I had created throughout my life. I still suffer chronic pain issues from that accident, but I am stubborn about it keeping me from doing things and most people are completely unaware. I enjoy horseback riding far too much to be stopped by a disability.

Where I have lived: Dallas, TX; Laffayette, IN; Denton, TX; Derby, CT; Bass Harbor, ME; San Jose, CA; Brookston, IN; Chalmers, IN; Delphi, IN; Phoenix, AZ; Payson, AZ; Fort Worth, TX; Weatherford, TX. I spent extended summer vacations in Montreal, Canada and Frenchboro, Maine.

Favorite Actors:

1. Rutger Hauer (My very first movie star crush. He's posted one of my poems, The Wolf Within, on his website.)
2. Michael T. Weiss (The actor I've had the most dreams about. Why is that? I was a huge fan of his show The Pretender.)
3. Anthony Cistaro and Eric Etebari (I loved the show Witchblade. Anthony Cistaro was a student of my Uncle Milty.)
4. Benicio del Toro, Oded Fuhr, Eric Schweig, Adam Beach, Sendhil Ramamurthy, and Jeremy Sisto (Defines tall, dark, and handsome.)
5. Luke Goss, Damian Lewis, David Tennant, Robson Green, Paul Bettany, and Colin Firth (Gotta love those British men! I've had a lot of dreams that Damian Lewis starred in as well.)
6. Colin Ferguson, Karel Roden, Karl Urban (My most recent favs!)
7. Chuck Norris (Who I finally met in January 2009. I only wish I could have actually had a conversation with him but there were too many people.)
   

Hobbies: Anything horses! Photography, gardening, landscaping, indoor rock climbing, writing, reading, and older activities that I wish I had time for: swimming, hiking, running, singing and archery.

Goals: It is my dream to find my success in writing. Then, I could use my spare time and disposable income rescuing horses and other animals in need. I would like my next home to be "green" and supported by solar energy. I would love to build a large greenhouse to grow vegetables. Right now, I have tomatoes growing under a plant light in my laundry room.

The History of Writing: After a series of terrifying dreams, when I was in third grade, a school counselor, Diane Hull-Davenport, advised me to begin writing them down as a way to cope. I have been writing ever since. When I was young, I attended a very large church that produced a newspaper, and they published several motivational stories I wrote. In high school, I was encouraged to write short stories and poetry by several teachers and won an honorable mention in a writing contest. I still have nightmares, so the material I write from never ends.

I began writing The Wolf Experiments when I was thirteen, furiously scribbling the words by hand in thirteen spiral notebooks (consequently, 13 is a lucky number). The story was based on a dream and sort of ran away with itself. I revised it every time a new media form became available to me, first by typewriter, word processor, and later a computer.

In college, I was admitted into the School of Humanities at Purdue University, trying to decide if I should pursue a writing career which was not supported by my father, or a veterinary career, which was. I received great encouragement for my creative writing from my English professor and the words "special talent" was something that I never let go of.