About Pat
I was born in Llangollen, Wales and came to the US before I was old enough to remember. I spent a happy childhood growing up in Kentucky as an animal lover, especially horses. I read everything I could find about horses and dogs. I also loved reading fantasy books. The first time I remember really writing was in fourth grade, when I wrote a play about a redbird and was allowed to act it out with friends. I went to Stephens College, then the University of Missouri, Columbia, where I met my husband, Jim. I graduated from Missouri with a BS and Masters in Education, got married and began my teaching career, which spanned grades PS through HS at one time or another.
Somewhere in the middle of teaching assignments, having a family and moving around the Midwest from Missouri to Wisconsin to Minnesota, I began to write again. I wrote everything! I wrote a melodrama for a small-town festival, teaching aids, newsletters, activities for educational magazines, adult short stories, poetry and children’s middle-grade novels and picture books. The children’s books became an easy favorite and I have found a publishing home with Melange Books.
My husband and I lived for a long time on a hobby farm in Minnesota, but recently moved into town. I retired from teaching in order to put all my time and energy into writing. Jim and I have two adult children who are married with children and pets of their own, so our house frequently echoes with the pitter-patter of little feet, both human and canine. I frequently visit the three horses that live with my daughter and her family on the old hobby farm. Over the years, I have developed new passions in the form of Irish/Celtic folk music, travel, and scuba diving. My “Happy Place” is 50 feet underwater looking for seahorses! We travel to Mexico several times a year to dive and see friends. My favorite things are reading, writing, and hanging out with family, friends and critters.