CHILDREN'S BOOK AUTHOR
Survivor Mountain
Upper MG novel
Wild Ink Publishing
Thirteen-year-old Dani tries to live her motto, fake it ’til you make it.
Faking confidence might lead her back to “normal” and end her decision-making paralysis, a symptom of the anxiety and depression that developed after her older sister’s accidental death, which Dani and her younger sister Lily silently blame each other for causing.
Dani reluctantly agrees to allow Lily to join her on a school club hiking trip in the Santa Cruz Mountains—but the fun outing turns harrowing when an earthquake buries their path in a rockslide, leaving Dani, Lily, a crush, and two friends separated from their classmates. The group finds an alternate trail and meets a married couple who offers them shelter—but they turn out to be on-the-run criminals, and the shelter turns into a trap. Dani and Lily are kidnapped!
No amount of ransom money will save their lives—outwitting the kidnappers is their only chance of survival in a high stakes con-game that pushes courage to the limit. If she fails it means certain death. But if she succeeds, Dani won’t have to fake it ’til she makes it anymore—she will prove to herself that she is becoming the person she wants to be.
Bold. Brave. Decisive. Her older sister would be proud.
Available in 2025
Ten Clever Ninjas
Picture book
Clear Fork Publishing
A very clever ninja and his nine ninja buddies spar across the countryside, build a secret hideout, and follow their inner Zen to discover a sweet cupcake surprise. Ki-ya!
The upbeat rhythm and lively illustrations will appeal to children ages 2 – 6.
Available now at:
Butterfly Girl
MG novel
Clear Fork Publishing
In the summer before seventh grade, Meghan McCoy-Lee discovers there’s magic in the sap of her family tree. She follows instructions in her great-grandmother’s journal . . . and grows leathery wings! Meghan’s story goes viral and her mother, who abandoned Meghan at Grandpa’s Oregon farm six years earlier, swoops back into town with superstar plans for her Winged Wonder Girl. Grandpa says to stay on the farm and ignore the paparazzi, but her charismatic mom wants her to leave for Hollywood and start a new life together. The popular girls at school want Meghan gone, like yesterday—she’s getting way more attention than they are.
One thing is certain: Meghan’s going to make up her own mind, and the designer divas aren’t part of the equation. With the help of her brainy best friends, there may be a way to make the queen of the mean girls stumble and fall off her throne. Now Meghan must decide if a glamorous life with the mother she dreamed of is worth moving away from the friends who stood by her—and from Grandpa, who loved her before the whole world knew her name.
Available now at: