Man, weren't the 70s groovy?

That's me, the cute blond one in the middle, flanked by my parents and brother in our wood-paneled den in our brick ranch in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in 1972. Life as a kid is easy when you have parents who love you and a brother who only occasionally wrestles you to the ground. My stories are rooted here, in this decade and in this family. From here, I entered the 1980s, from which I wrote short novels in elementary school, chronicled school life in junior high and high school yearbooks, and eventually majored in journalism at the University of South Carolina, all while dancing to techno pop from the UK and manning the keg at parties. I began adulting in the 90s in the small town of Sumter, SC, where I told stories of small town life as a reporter for the Sumter Daily Item, one of the country's last afternoon newspapers. From there I launched a non-descript 20-year career in marketing sales in an attempt to pay the bills. 

 

I have finally returned to my storytelling roots, writing creative non-fiction that you can read here, and a memoir-based work of fiction that you'll be able to read in hardback one day. Through a comic-like series of tragedies, my work has evolved to focus on the secular as seen through the filter of faith, an ever-moving target.

 

I'm married to Michael Cannon, and have four grown children, Isabel, Olivia, Jacob and David, only one of whom still needs money on a regular basis. Michael and I have lived in Greenville, SC, Sewanee, TN, Fort Pierce, FL, Tampa, FL, and right now, Shreveport, LA, because Michael is an Episcopal priest. I am a partner in his life and ministry, as well as chronicling my own journey through this blog. During the 2020 Covid quarantine, I wrote a book about a family struggling with tradition and identity and the oozey mess that makes. I hope someone will publish it one day. I am an MFA candidate at the University of the South School of Letters.