When I was five, I wanted to become a jockey, a ballerina, and a veterinarian when I grew up. Eventually, I added syndicated cartoonist to my list of pipe dreams. As I grew older, the list got pruned through growth-spurts, lack of grace, and an aversion to needles until only cartoonist remained.

My future path clear, I set off for college with visions of fame and fortune dancing in my head, only to be gobsmacked by a rather nasty reality check: apparently, DECIDING to become a syndicated cartoonist was a delusion on par with deciding to become a professional basketball player with a Nike deal. Obviously, I needed a plan B to fall back on.

Plan B, I decided, involved me becoming an elementary art teacher. Before I could achieve that goal, I got married, followed my husband to his new job in a new city, and had three babies in quick succession (one who is autistic). Thus, I skipped right over plan B, and landed, screaming, in the midst of plan C: stay-at-home-mom.

I was content to play out plan C for a good many years. Meanwhile, we moved across country, had twins, and I started submitting cartoon ideas to the syndicates every so often. In early 2003, on my fourth try (and much to my surprise and delight) Universal Press Syndicate expressed interest in my strip, Clear Blue Water. After a brief development period, Clear Blue Water made its debut in newspapers on May 3, 2004. Toward the end of its run, my strip was being enjoyed daily by literally DOZENS of people! Alas, all good things must come to an end, and Clear Blue Water’s last day in papers was on September 28, 2008.

I live work and play in the Florida Keys with my family. I feel incredibly blessed to have achieved one of my childhood dreams (though I’m still waiting on the fame and fortune!) and I’ve set new goals for myself. Through God’s grace, hopefully I’ll achieve these goals as well.