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I was a total bookworm who lived 44 miles from the nearest library (Columbus) and I think I got to go to it two or three times. Every month they'd ship us some books and I'd read them all over and over again, as well as the books at Nye School, until the next batch came. My parents let us buy lots of paperbacks from the school book clubs and that was fantastic.

College and other education

After high school, I attended Montana State University in Bozeman for three yeas, trying on majors, unsuccessfully—as far as a degree goes anyway. I have about the same number of credits in English, physics, and psychology, with a bunch of other things thrown in as well. This is a good mix for someone who writes a lot of science fiction and fantasy.

Since then, I've taken lots of classes: psychology and writing and computer art and energy-efficient homes at the local community college; writing and art classes through the University of Minnesota and the Iowa Writers Workshop and the Taos Institute of Arts. I love learning and school and am currently studying and practicing energy medicine. I am also a massage school dropout: I was doing very well but I didn't have enough time to write.

Marriage (and divorce) and family

I married Bruce Winter in 1980 and we spent one year-and-a-half in Madison, Wisconsin, while Bruce got his master's degree. Then we moved to Rochester, Minnesota in January, 1982, where Bruce became an electrical engineer for IBM.

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