I’m technically a "grown up" with "responsibilities" and "bills," but at heart I’m still the same kid who doodled in my notebook during math class and read Judy Blume way past my bedtime. Of course, I’m obligated to say that doodling in class and staying up past your bedtime is bad and you should never do it--because I’m a grown up now and that's what a grown up would probably say.

I grew up in ramshackle apartments all over southern California, but I consider Huntington Beach to be my hometown. My home life wasn’t always the easiest and I spent most of my free time at the library. I read books by Beverly Cleary and Roald Dahl in every nook and cranny of the Huntington Beach Public Library.

While I was in college studying literature and history, I got a job running the children’s department at the local Barnes and Noble. I loved everything about being a bookseller, but a couple years later found something I loved even more: working in an elementary school library. Between checking out books and reading to classes, I had the incredible fortune to meet some of my very favorite children’s authors and illustrators, including Mac Barnett, Jory John, Jon Klassen, Margaret Peterson Haddix, Jon Scieszka, and Peter Brown.

These days, I live in Madison, Wisconsin with my husband and young daughter. I’ve always read a lot of children’s books, but having a toddler really kicks it up a notch. No matter how much you like Sandra Boynton, you’re probably not going to read Little Pookie sixteen times in a row unless a very angry two-year-old demands it. Somewhere between the eleventh and fifty-seventh reading of Barnyard Dance, I realized that I wanted to make children’s books, too.

So back to the library I went, this time with a toddler in tow! I studied hundreds—maybe thousands—of picture books. When I found art I loved, I looked at the copyright page to see what illustration method the artist used so I could try it out myself. Then in 2025, I was selected for PB Rising Stars, a mentorship for aspiring picture book creators. I worked one-on-one with an experienced mentor, participated in writing workshops, learned about the publishing industry, and made friends with other artists and writers.

So here I am. Writing stories, reading books, drawing, and staying up way past my bedtime—all the things that got me into trouble as a kid. Only now, I get to call it a career.