About

I was born in a small Arkansas town, but my family moved to South Louisiana and that became the introduction to diversity for me. As i began first grade, something was strange and when I reported to my mother, she explained ‘they’ meaning the kids and teacher at school, were speaking a different language. She said it was French. I was in fourth grade before Mrs. Knobloch explained the concept of Cajun French to me. People used to call that a distorted version of the French language. I don’t suggest you go to South Louisiana and say that to any local today.

I also didn’t understand at the time, but I was living in the middle of Lafourche Parish named after Bayou Lafourche which streams lazily all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico. That took years to appreciate. Years later I love my day visits to Bayou Lafourche and the wonderful Cajun folks and their food!

I was really luck in high school and landed in Gatesville, Texas, to live with my grandparents. That was another lesson in diversity with the mixture of central Texas ranchers and immigrated Hispanics. It took about one semester of ninth grade to get the hang of it but when I did, i thrived. I even did a stint at high school in Oklahoma living with my Aunt Betty. That’s another story, but hold fast – I’m not going to reveal my entire shady teenage story.

I landed in New Orleans in my twenties after a pretty good college career, due in large part because by then I had learned to enjoy folks from different backgrounds and cultures. Of course, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my Liberal Arts degree, so I went out and landed a teaching job. I admit when I walked in that first high school English classroom, I was hooked. Loved teenagers, loved teaching literature and writing, and loved the hours, even when I had to spend extra time at home on lessons and papers.

I married Rob Huber in my early twenties. and I continued to work as a high school English teacher in Florida, a change which taught me how to navigate academia. I later earned a Master’s Degree in education, but my ultimate joy and happiness came from our two children, Kris and Stacey, both now successful and happily married.

When the marriage ended, I was fortunate to marry Paul, my true love who supports my writing only to stop me three days a week so I will go to the gym for much needed exercise. We have three grandchildren, two of whom are teenagers – Jillian & Tristen – and a five-year-old, Billy.

I skipped over my other love. In fifth grade I competed on a weekly basis with J.B. (Seemed every boy had a name with initials.) We both started writing poetry always with rhymes of course. It was not a formal competition. We sat across from each other and passed our papers to each other. When our teacher put a stop to it, we were crushed. But those moments would instill in me the feeling of magic in creating the written word. My poems were like the painter who stands back from his masterpiece and sees the beauty. I saw the beauty in my words, and like the painter always saw the need for change and improvement. A better image. A different expression.

I always knew I would write fiction even though I liked writing poetry, and still do. Long gone are those rhymes, only free verse now, but I enjoy short stories, compressing a character into a shorter form with one major conflict. And resolving it in some way. But I quickly attached to CC in my first novel.

After a motor trip though the Northwest in the 80’s, I fell in love with travelling in America. My favorite area became the Southwest. I was able to visit national parks, like Zion, Canyon deChelly, Oak Creek Canyon, Mesa Verde and others. I fly to the nearby major city – Albuquerque, Denver, Phoenix – hop in a car and drive. There is a feeling of rejuvenation by standing in outdoor spaces like the national parks.

Today I am on one of my greatest adventures. I have spent the last two years developing, plotting, and writing my novel. Now I am working on marketing trying to birth CC’S Road Home in January, 2021. Combine these adventures with two rescue poodles and we have a wonderful, busy life.

My children and grandchildren encourage my writing and through their eyes, I enjoy writing about what’s really important – love and the importance of family.