I am an author currently seeking representation for my debut novel, The Pie Window.
I believe everyone has a story worth exploring. I enjoy putting words to feelings like love, loss, and laughter. Arranging those words into stories is my challenge accepted. Sharing them with the world is my hope.
Photo credit: Diana MacDougal
My Book
I am seeking representation for my debut novel, The Pie Window. A dual-timeline historical tale, The Pie Window is the story of two sisters, Nell and Jewel McAllie, who grow up in rural Northern Indiana in the 1920s. Surviving the harsh realities of farm life, including a devastating tornado, causes them to pursue very different lifestyles. A heartbreaking accident leads Nell and Jewel to conceal a secret that threatens to tear their family apart until years later, one of their granddaughters goes searching for the truth.
The Why
My high school English teacher introduced me to Emily Dickinson, and I was forever found. Since then, I’ve puttered with words and used them to create stories that bring my personal experiences to life. Whether that’s through fiction, essay, or humor, I love the challenge of creating interesting narratives.
The Pie Window is a long time coming. I wrote the first draft fifteen years ago and picked it up again once I retired. It’s a love letter to the women in my family, women who never saw themselves as anything but ordinary, but whose deep love for family and commitment to survival got them through some pretty harrowing times. Women to whom I owe enormous debts for the sheer fact of my existence.
I owe it to them to try and get this story out into the world. And I owe it to myself. And I probably owe it to Emily Dickinson, too, so please read it for her sake if nothing else.
Mostly, I write about families, both given and found. It’s in those relationships where we learn about all the big emotions, and sometimes we learn what to do with them.
My Book
The Pie Window is the story of two sisters growing up in rural Indiana in the 1920’s. Surviving their environment forces each of them to make choices and sacrifices that threaten to break their family apart. They decide to conceal a secret that could damage future generations until one of their granddaughters goes searching for the truth.