Oh Hello,

Growing up in North Alabama, my time was divided between the dance studio, the theater, and the swimming pool. As the daughter of a computer engineer and a nurse, I was raised in a home that valued STEM but also held the arts in equal esteem. My love for storytelling sparked early, when my dad let me design my own children’s books in PowerPoint on our family computer. That hobby continued well into high school, reaching a pinnacle when I persuaded my English teacher to let my class perform a play I’d written for our final exam. That experience anchored writing as a creative refuge, allowing me a respite from the physical demands of dance.

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I earned my BA in Musical Theatre from the University of Alabama, where I received a scholarship to work alongside the Director of Musical Theatre, co-teaching and choreographing upper-level courses. I also managed the UA Dance Lab, tutoring fellow performers and supporting a wide range of productions as a choreographer, assistant choreographer, performer, dance captain, and assistant stage manager. These roles shaped how I understand story, movement, and character—foundations that would eventually weave their way into my writing.

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After graduating, I returned to Huntsville and balanced corporate roles with teaching dance. I later joined The Academy for Academics and Arts, where I co-directed the Dance Magnet Program and taught students from pre-K through eighth grade across multiple genres. Alongside my co-director, I storyboarded, built, directed, and performed in two original ballets, along with numerous concerts and showcases.

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As a committed advocate for arts-integrated learning, I collaborated often with fellow educators to create interdisciplinary, student-driven projects. I guided students through poetry-to-movement work and introduced an essay-writing component into my cultural dance curriculum. One of my most meaningful moments came when a former student told me they still remembered how to write a proper essay because of the way I taught them.

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During the pandemic, I made the heart wrenching decision to step away from teaching to support my family’s needs at home. In the nursery, in those not-so-quiet hours that stretched between feedings and playtime and naps, I returned to writing with real intention and drafted the first version of A Daughter of Divine Blood.

 

Now with my husband, two children, and an assortment of beloved pets, I find myself pulled in many directions, yet still unraveling Ila's story and others. Because whether I’m choreographing or reworking a passage for the tenth time, I’m still driven by the same impulse that inspired my earliest homemade books—an enduring fascination with the ways stories shape and connect us.