Born and raised outside of Baltimore in the smallish, rural town of Westminster, I was the type of kid who asked for dragon fantasy books for every holiday, eagerly trailed after my travel-loving family, who took my sister and I on adventures across the globe, and annoyingly talked nonstop to anyone who offered me even a minute of their precious time. Almost 30 years later, I am happy to report not much has changed. I am an even more avid reader these days. Preferring to spend my Friday nights curled up on my couch with a soft blanket around me reading a book and drinking a glass of wine over going out. I am still obsessed with seeing as much of the world as possible towing my not-so-reluctant sister with me. The only difference between the wide-eyed girl of my yesteryears and the person I am today (besides adult cynicism) is the simple fact that I now like to annoy friends and family with nonstop history lectures in addition to tales of dragon riders, avenging heroines, and widely unbelievable thrillers.

One could say my love for history came out of nowhere considering the vast majority of my family leaned towards the sciences. But nonetheless, I graduated from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) with B.A’s in history and political science. After spending a year delusionally thinking a career in law was for me, I returned to UMBC with the “history bug” in full fever and in two years, I had a hard-earned Master’s in historical studies on my resume.

It was there in the stacks of the Albin O’Kuhn Library and under the guidance of my wonderful advisors that I picked up the proverbial pen and shyly ventured into the reading room of the UK National Archives in Kew to research, write, and untangle truth from fiction when it came to Forty Elephants.. After a hot mess of a thesis, two professional conference presentations, a guest speaker spot on a academic podcast, winning the Nancy Rupprecht Paper Prize for best graduate paper on European women’s history, and some advice and encouragement from my advisors and family, I took the plunge into the unknown territory of pitching the story to agents and publishers. Speaks more, in my opinion, to the FASCINATING story of the women of the Forty Elephants than me, but the rest, you can say, is history.

When I’m not talking nonstop about these women or uncovering more incredible women hidden the folds of history, I can be found working at U.S National Archives and Records Administration in College Park, devouring the latest bestseller, pretending to be a wine connoisseur, obsessing over tennis scores, and dreamily planning my next vacation while glamorously cooking pasta in my kitchen.