I was born near Philadelphia in the summer of 1963, the youngest of three children, and did part of my growing up there. My mother had an art studio in the beautiful old house we lived in; my father had a collection of minerals I found fascinating. My parents' enjoyment of books and film made both important parts of my life from early on. My mother's love of animals brought dogs and then cats into my life. There were weekly hikes in the woods and I pretty much believed tribbles were real until about seven.

In the intervening years, following one parent, then my own wandering path, I have lived in Florida, California, Maine, and Texas. While living with my mother in Florida, I dropped out of highschool; now I have a master's degree. I got to spend a couple years working at Renaissance Faires, and indulged my love of film as an art house film projectionist in two different cities. No matter what else I was doing, I was always writing, which eventually took me back to school, to a creative writing program, and, after that, to Clarion West.

As a little girl, I loved any fiction or art that opened doors - or windows or cracks in the air - to possibility, that let wonder into the room. Ursula Le Guin, the Narnia Chronicles, Tolkein, and Samuel R. Delany were early loves; they were followed by Tanith Lee, Patricia McKillip, and C.J. Cherryh, authors who remain among my favorites.

The first things I wrote, at nine years old, were fantastic literature and that's what it's always been for me - whether science fiction, fantasy, horror, dark fantasy, magic realism or somewhere east of the sun and west of the moon. Writing has always been about two things for me: exploring and expanding limits and notions of the possible, and feeding the body and spirit through language and story.

These days I live in Austin, Texas. I am still an animal lover, devoted reader, and movie aficionado.