10.26.2024

More about me:

A Book-Loving Farm Girl Turned Pantser Writer and Fiction Editor

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For starters, I grew up in central Minnesota a quarter mile from my grandparents' hog farm. My brother and I spent a lot of time there, and more than once got into mischief involving falling into manure pits (yeah, gross, I know!). But we loved to be outdoors and play with the animals, me more than my brother. There were goats, sheep, and cows on and off, horses too. But always there were the pigs. It was a tough job, one that is hard on body and mind over the years. Pigs are smart and strong. And they need to be fed. A lot. So in addition to them, there were fields to be sown and harvested as well.

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All in all, I'm grateful for growing up on a farm. I learned what hard work is at an early age and that you don't complain about it, you just do it. My work ethic comes from both of my parents, actually. My father worked on the farm for 40 years and is now happily retired from the family business. My mother taught elementary school for 36 years. First kindergarten, then first grade, then second, then as a Title One teacher helping students falling behind catch back up.

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I learned to read early. My parents were always reading, whether it was the newspaper, a National Geographic magazine, an old textbook on physics or architectural engineering, or a historical romance novel, or any other fictional piece of work. Yeah, we watched Disney movies and Saturday morning cartoons, but that was about it. For years, we could only watch the Olympics by holding the bunny ear antenna at a certain angle so Mom could watch the ice-skating competition. After my mom taught us to read, my dad taught us the details of grammar and spelling. I fell in love with it all, and for whatever reason, grammar and syntax make sense to my brain, and so in 2022 I was finally able to open my own editing business, North Pines Editing LLC. I specialize in line and copy edits, but also include structural editing in the package. It's so much fun to read and do what I love while helping authors polish their stories!

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Anyway, I read all the time. I liked to be grounded (rare though it was) so I could read in peace in my room. When I was in middle school, we were required to pick a classic one semester. While the other kids flocked to grab Animal Farm (because it's short), I picked up Wuthering Heights. And loved it. Sophomore year, we read The Sun Also Rises, and while the other kids said it was boring and they didn't see the point, I adored it.

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So began my obsession with classics, often American. I dove headfirst into Steinbeck, Plath, and Hemingway. I read Fitzgerald, Kerouac, Bradbury, Pasternak, Golding, and more. There are still so many I haven't read, but the style and voice that comes from these writers grabs my attention when it seems to bore others.

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Aside from classics, though, I love fantasy. I read Inkheart, Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Spiderwick Chronicles, The Golden Compass, Percy Jackson, Redwall, and Eragon several times as a child, as well as some teen vampire novels before graduating to LJ Smith, Karen Marie Moening, Melissa Marr, SJ Maas, Holly Black, Armentrout, Yarros, Stiefvater, Schwab, Goodkind, Sanderson, and Rothfuss, Jay Kristoff, among many others.

 

I also enjoy a good romance every one in a while to cut through the heaviness fantasy, classics, and literary fiction often offer. I enjoy both self-published and traditionally published authors, taking pleasure in the crafted worlds and writing more than the methods of publication (especially since I self-publish too).

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As for my preference for paperbacks or ebooks, I have read digital versions of books before (mostly when I still had a KU subscription) but I by far prefer paperbacks; the smell and feel of them, and the look of them on my shelves. But what about hardbacks? I like them too, but usually go for a less expensive paperback when they're available since I buy so many books haha. I also have an Audible subscription as I have time on the way to my day job and back to listen to books when I don't always have time for paperbacks at home.

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Aside from books, writing, and editing, I enjoy crocheting (my grandmother attempted to teach me as a child but I ended up self-teaching during high school and like to free hand patterns involving granny squares and anything resembling a cozy sweater. I also like to paint (mostly acrylics but sometimes watercolor) and no, I'm not super good at it haha, but it's fun, just like doodling maps for my books. I like to have bonfires and burn marshmallows, talk to the chipmunk that watches over my house, drink lots of coffee and London Fogs and hot cocoa and root beer, and change the furniture arrangements at least 4 times a year. Going on mini road trips is enjoyable, but I get homesick easily, except when I visit my bestie, her husband, and their kids in Florida. I used to play D&D, Pathfinder, and sometimes Shadowrun. I dabbled in Warhammer, too, but mostly painting the minis, which I found more entertaining than the game itself, though the lore is incredibly interesting. I play Magic: The Gathering and own several commander decks and lots of pretty dice. Oh, and I work a lot, which makes writing hard, but editing is my passion, and I always have or make time for it.

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As a writer, though, I'm definitely a pantser. Trying to plot anything has ended in total derailment every single time, and so I don't even try anymore. I employ a method I like to call "simmer." I get an idea and start writing it, but then work on other things in between, sometimes for years like The Magpie's Daughter, and the idea/plot slowly evolves and scenes and dialogue come to me randomly at work or while I'm writing something else or another scene. By the time 4 years passed, I have a 12-page document filled with only 1 or 2 paragraph notes that may or may not have made their way into the story. I also rewrote the first half of TMD 4 times, so there's that, too....

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Anyway, that means writing deadlines are nonexistent for me. And rapid releases are completely out of the question for a marketing strategy. But I don't mind. I write for fun and because I've always wanted to. Whether the strategy is spot on is beside the point for me.

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Thanks for reading, and nice to meet you!