I’m a chef / pastry chef (CPC CSW), professional harp performer and speculative fiction writer from Cincinnati, Ohio. This page is devoted to the latter two, so that’s mainly what I’ll talk about here, but on the culinary side, I am the pastry chef and class instructor at Kate’s Catering and Personal Chef Services (Dayton, KY). I write predominantly fantasy, usually epic and/or humorous, with some soft science fiction. I play the traditional lever harp with a specialty in Celtic music – but I also perform modern and Renaissance tunes. To me, music and language are inextricably linked.
I have studied, competed, performed and judged extensively in the folk harp world. My long-term mentor and friend is Nancy Bick Clark. I also studied in Scotland in 2001 and 2002, attending the Edinburgh Harp Festival and the Ullapool Feis (Gaelic singing as well as harp), as well as receiving instruction from Alison Kinnaird, Patsy Seddon and Bill Taylor, among other prominent artists in the field. I’ve also studied with William Jackson and Grainne Hambly.
I began performing as a member of an early music performance group at venues ranging from schools and libraries to the Ohio Renaissance Festival. Since then, I have played for a wide variety of events, from weddings, luncheons and holiday parties to multiple appearances at the Cincinnati Celtic Cultural and Musical Festival and the Cincinnati Celtic Lands Fest. In 2001, I was the SHSA National Scottish Harp Champion (Journeyman level). I also started teaching beginning harp. Invited to perform at the 2003 International Folk Harp Conference as an “emerging artist,” I released a CD at that event. After serving as a shadow and assistant judge for the SHSA, I judged my first competition in June of 2006 and am a sanctioned competition judge. I also competed in the North American Festival of Wales Eisteddfod, the national Welsh competition, and placed first in Solo Adult Instrumental.
I was part of pan-Celtic group White Orchid with harp, flute and fiddle, and a member of Welsh group Tri Werin with harp, vocals (in Welsh!), accordion and fiddle. I am currently one half of the harp duo 72 Strings.
I have been writing fantasy since my fingers first touched the keys at the age of eight. My contemporary fantasy novel, Flow, was released by Double Dragon Publishing in March of 2012, and my soft science fiction novel, Scylla and Charybdis, is now out from Grimbold Books imprint Kristell Ink. I have sold numerous works of science fiction and fantasy, both short stories and the occasional poem, to venues such as Abyss and Apex (reprinted in their first Best Of anthology), Andromeda Spaceways Magazine, GUD, and numerous anthologies. My style is high fantasy mixed with intrigue, but I also have a comic streak. As for poetry, I’m a traditionalist at heart: I love form poetry, from sonnets to villanelles. The draw is making magic within the strictures of the form.
I have also provided proofreading and copyediting services for the online magazines Emerald Tales and Darwin’s Evolutions, as well as a non-fiction book on healthcare.
As a chef, I have a Diploma in Baking and Pastry and an Associates in Culinary Arts from the International Culinary School at the Art Institute of Ohio-Cincinnati (both summa cum laude). I am also ACF certified as a CPC (Certified Pastry Culinarian) and a CSW (Certified Specialist of Wine). I am currently working in catering at Kate’s Catering and Personal Chef Services (Dayton, KY).
When not engaged in the above, I enjoy reading (mysteries as well as SF/F, and I love a good anthology); and occasionally dabbling in artwork and photography. I am the proud “mom” of a Bichon Frise, and Peri (“nymph,” Greek).
