About the Author

In elementary school when the teacher assigned the class to create sentences using our spelling words, I always wrote stories, and even won the Young Author's Award in fourth grade for my inspiring story, How the Giraffe Got His Long Neck. After traveling to a university to represent my school onstage and accept my award, stage fright got the better of me and I spent the entire time hiding in the bathroom!

During my teen years, I filled notebooks with dark poetry reflecting the meanings of life (or lack thereof, in great Ecclesiastes-style musings). In my early 20’s I scribbled ideas on napkins or scraps of paper whenever I had an epiphany. I started writing books and dreaming of the day I would be a published author.

And then came marriage and kids.

Instead of writing about life, I was immersed in it. A life of messy diapers, refrigerator drawings, and spaghetti noodles stuck to walls. The greatest life adventure of all.

With absolutely no time to write.

Dreams of leisurely writing under a tree while birds sang, turned into the noisy reality of single motherhood and homeschooling three children. I colored in the lines and wrote with a red pen. Stories became bedtime tales told in animated voices.

In what seemed like forever and yet only a day, my three beautiful, talented, God-loving children took off to discover their own meaning of life. One daughter is a teacher in Japan, another spent time abroad in Costa Rica and El Salvador, and my son finished his journey at the university, is working for a Fortune 500 company and is planning to travel the U.S. in an RV. In the silence that followed, I heard the faint whisperings of long ago storylines.

It’s now time to rekindle a love of writing─to fill the void with new life: a life of adjectives, similes and metaphors. Of typing into the wee hours because a character won’t let me sleep.

A trip delayed, but now this journey begins again. Won’t you join me?

While I love the world of fiction where anything is possible and the writer breaths life into characters, nonfiction holds life-changing potential. The work I am most excited about is my upcoming release, Umbrella in the Storm: How to Successfully Weather Life. Through biblical insight, practical advice and some personal testimonies, this motivational book will help you deal with the many challenges of life. Visit the Works page for a more detailed description and to order on Amazon. Let's learn to dance in the rain - a rainbow is on the horizon!!

A story I wrote called "Attack of Minimalism" is being published in a new Chicken Soup for the Soul book being released on November 3, 2020. What an honor to be featured in such an inspirational work. This story details my desire to own less so I can be free to do more, and how I went about it. View pictures from the nursing home where I gave away collectible dolls to the residents here.

Lights, Camera, Action!

I raised my children to be adventurous, and never worried about skinned knees. But I overprotected their hearts. When I learned an 18 year old boy liked my 14 year old girl, even though they met in church, I lost it a little…well, maybe a lot. After quashing any notions whatsoever of my daughter being available for many years, a friend who I shared the drama with wrote a poem. After reading I Won’t Compromise by Douglas Mursu, I realized all teens would benefit from hearing a message like this. And it needed to be in a medium that would reach them the most--a movie. Having no screenplay experience, I quickly learned Final Draft and set about writing the movie script.

Then came another thought: I needed to produce this movie. Mind you, I knew nothing about that either. Thankfully, the Lord blessed this project and brought together a great director, cast and crew. Filming the movie, Steadfast, was one of the best times of my life. Also one of the most stressful times with little sleep, but an incredible experience and a lot of fun. Steadfast is sort of a blend of The Breakfast Club meets High School Musical with a Christian message, and filmed to give it a real life feel rather than a Hollywood production. A coming of age movie about ordinary teens facing everyday struggles such as bullying, purity, cutting, substance abuse, etc., this movie highlights how we can run with endurance through life’s trials and temptations.

Steadfast the Movie is recommended family entertainment by The Dove Foundation and was awarded the “Faith-Friendly 12+” and “Family Approved 12+” Seals of Approval. It also won three awards at the Florida Movie Festival. Steadfast has been subtitled in Japanese, and Spanish subtitling is in the works for even greater evangelizing opportunities. Study guides for both teens and parents are based on the movie and provide deeper insight into dealing with these relevant, hard-hitting issues. To find out more and to watch the trailer, visit www.steadfastthemovie.com.

Music

Music reaches people in a special way. Steadfast the Movie has an inspirational soundtrack and I was blessed to have written two of the songs. Wait is about purity and a reminder that girls are daughters of the King (talented musician, Sam Herbruck, also lent his composing talents). Can’t Climb This Mountain shares the despair we all feel at times in our lives but reveals the hope that can be ours in Christ (my son, Jacob Shoner, helped write a verse--my favorite one actually!). Listen to samples of all the soundtrack songs on the Steadfast website and if you sign up for my newsletter you’ll receive a free download of the song, Can’t Climb this Mountain.

Okay, so I am one of those freaks who loves to learn. I feel if I’m going to read I might as well earn degrees while I’m at it! With a master’s degree in Theology, a bachelor’s in Biblical Studies, and an associate’s degree in Paralegal Studies, I currently work in a law office by day and write by night. I’m also a certified counselor with the American Association of Christian Counselors, a certified travel agent, a certified TESOL (Teaching English as a Second Language) teacher, and a licensed real estate agent! All very useful in the writing world, by the way.

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