The Author
When I became a grandmother, I revisited raising kids. I watch my granddaughter often and as an active 15-month-old I saw how rough she was with our dogs and her own dog. I was terrified that she would be bitten. With her love of books and being read to I was sure I could find a book at our county library about kindness to dogs written for toddlers. To my surprise there was nothing specific for her age group. I even enlisted the help of the main children’s librarian with few results.
So here I am today with my own book - I am a first-time author. I recruited my sister Jan, a talented watercolor artist, to do my illustrations. The cover dachshund was our family pet, Schultz, many years ago when Jan and I were kids.
I graduated from Southeast Missouri State University. My work experience is varied - I was an assistant buyer for Stix, Baer, & Fuller and later part of the Special Event’s fashion office and as a modeling booking agent. For the last 20 years I have worked as an administrative assistant for our family printing company, Advertisers Printing. My husband, Bill, and I have three children, three granddaughters, one grandson, our dog Tobin, and live in Ballwin, MO.
The Artist
I am retired Elementary School teacher. My love of art and nature have always been a major influence in my work with young children. I taught for 25 years in the Clayton Public Schools and in early retirement I worked as a nanny. I currently volunteer at my church's preschool. I enjoy raising monarch butterflies each summer and I continue to enjoy water painting. I have 3 grandsons and one granddaughter. I live with my husband, Mike, and our Basset Hound, Ava Mae, in Webster Groves, Mo.