I didn’t set out to write books. I set out to survive a layoff.
In 2017, after 25 years in corporate communications, I lost my job for the third time in my career. I did what I’d always done when life got hard: I opened my journal and my Bible. Those notes became Time to Refresh, a 21-day devotional for anyone who has been laid off, fired, or pushed to the sidelines. It went on to be named a finalist in the 2019 Best Book Awards, and it taught me that the hardest seasons often carry the words other people need most.
More books followed. Time to Reset is for the days after a disappointment knocks you off course. Better After the Battle is about finding God’s strength in turbulent times. My newest, Time to Rejoice, is for the season after you’ve been let down or broken and you’re wondering how to find joy again. And The GLOW Journal gives you 40 days to practice noticing God at work and telling someone about it. All of them grew out of my own life, not a formula.
Alongside writing, I coach other writers, mostly first-time authors with a faith-based nonfiction book they’ve been carrying around for years. I know what it feels like to have the book and not the plan. Helping someone finally finish is one of my favorite things to do.
The short version
- More than 30 years in public relations and corporate communications, most of it inside Fortune 500 companies in pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, and food service. Accredited by the Public Relations Society of America (APR).
- Author of the Time to devotional series (Time to Refresh, Time to Reset, and the new Time to Rejoice), Better After the Battle, and The GLOW Journal, a 40-day devotional journal.
- Writing coach for inspirational nonfiction authors, and a graduate of the Jerry Jenkins Christian Writers Guild apprentice program.
- Bible teacher. My ministry concentration is the expository teaching of the Word of God in spiritual discipline, discipleship, leadership, apologetics, and New Testament theology.
Education
I hold a Bachelor of Arts in English from West Virginia University and a Master of Arts in English from National University. I also earned a Master of Arts in Christian Ministry, along with postgraduate certificates in Christian Leadership, Theological Studies, and Biblical Studies, from Liberty University’s Rawlings School of Divinity. And I’m a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, which is a fancy way of saying I like a good process.
Off the page
I live in North Carolina with my husband, Kelvin, and our son. When I’m not writing or teaching, you’ll find me reading, cycling, traveling, or watching someone make something beautiful out of chocolate on a cooking show.