You can take the girl out of Iowa, but you can’t take Iowa out of the girl! Growing up surrounded by farms and critters was paradise for me and fed my love for nature and animals. I’ve been lucky to be able to combine my passion for animals with my writing and editorial career. One of my early jobs was working as a writing consultant for an Arabian horse farm--a dream job! As a freelance writer, I’ve written about endangered species, another topic close to my heart. As a publisher, I wrote articles about song bird decimation from cat predation and avian annihilation due to cell towers. I’ve donated my writing services to animal and nature nonprofits, too. One of my most interesting projects was writing a fund-raising video for the Humane Society about their nationwide partnership with police departments linking animal cruelty and domestic abuse. Both issues are immensely important to me and are themes in my novel, Blood to Rubies, as are many other nature themes.