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I was born in South Korea a few years after the Korean War. My parents served as missionaries in Seoul. My father taught library science at Yonsei University. And -- being from the South, he also taught his students how to do the Virginia Reel. My mother fostered Korean war orphan babies in addition to raising her own children in a country that was struggling to recover from four decades of Japanese occupation and the devastating civil war that has left the country divided to this day.
Our family's travels brought us back to the United States, where my parents were active in the civil rights movement. We always had the kind of house that was filled with books and magazines. Our family moved to Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada, in 1967. By then we numbered six kids, including one adopted sister.
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In Korea with a childhood friend
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." |
I put myself through university, working at a number of part time jobs. Over the years, I've been a home care aide, legal secretary, assistant to politicians, office manager, and vocational instructor. More recently I've specialized in non-profit administration. My husband Ross and I raised two sons; one is now a computer programmer and the other works as a researcher for the provincial government.
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Fiction writing: I was very surprised when, in the spring of 2016, a book started writing itself in my head. I had always said I didn't have a fictional bone in my body! But I was a lifelong Jane Austen fan, and had always wondered if I could write in 18th-century style.
A Contrary Wind was the result. I am currently working on the sequel, A Marriage of Attachment. And a short story about Tom Bertram, a minor character in Mansfield Park, appears in the anthology, Dangerous to Know: Jane Austen's Rakes & Gentleman Rogues. |
Non-fiction writing: I have authored several lengthy non-fiction investigative pieces about notable American crimes, such as: the murder of Madalyn Murray O'Hair, the Lindbergh kidnapping, the 1920 Wall Street bombing, the satanic ritual moral panic of the 90's, and the Rubin Hurricane Carter case. These articles have been cited in over a dozen books and been used in secondary school and university courses [for example, Sam Houston University, University of Missouri-Kansas City] My article about O'Hair was used in a course on the history of atheism at the Center for American Studies at Heidelberg University. My Wall Street bombing article was referenced in a New York City Law Journal Review article.
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Hobbies, interests, passions and peeves: I've sung in a number of bands and choirs, most recently the Kelowna International Choir. They entertain at local seniors' homes and do a fundraiser for the food bank every year. I'm still a book-lover, especially history and biography.
I believe volunteerism is a crucial component for a well-rounded life. I've volunteered for the SPCA, Heart & Stroke, Kelowna Mission Community Hall, various political parties, as a school mom, and with the Learning Disabilities Society of BC. I get buggy when people use apostrophes when they really mean plural, as in "apple's for sale." 
Our "drill" team -- drill, get it? Canada Day parade, including ESL students from VanWest college.
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Clean Sweep: After six satisfying years as the executive director for the Habitat for Humanity affiliate in my hometown, I decided it was time to start a new chapter in my life and make a clean sweep.
When I worked at private ESL college, it was a privilege to watch the owner/teachers, Moni and Susan, at work in the classroom. The example they set was a big factor in my decision to return to school and obtain my TESL certificate at Okanagan College in September of 2013.
Since the spring of 2014, I've been living and teaching in Shandong Province, China. There's a lot more about my life in China on my blog. [this page updated October 2017] |
