I grew up in Natick, a large town outside of Boston. My father was a teacher and a principal and my mother was a secretary. I was youngest of three siblings and I learned a lot from them.

I learned to love reading at an early age. Because I was a fan of Snoopy – and wanted to grow up to be him (before I realized that might not work out) – my family taught me to read at an early age…so I could read all of the Snoopy books in our house.

I became interested in writing in fourth and fifth grade, when teachers began giving us interesting assignments. My love of writing took off in middle school, where some of my teachers encouraged me to pursue it. This continued into high school, where I eventually wrote for the school newspaper and even penned an “Ode to the Boston Celtics” for senior English class, designed to be an epic poem.

I went to Boston College and got degrees in Education and Communications. When I was there, I did write briefly for the school newspaper and worked as a reporter – or what they called “stringer” for the Middlesex Daily News (which is now called the Metrowest Daily News), covering local stories, when I was a senior. I also began writing short stories for the company that my father worked for, Curriculum Associates. These stories, some are which my favorite of all time, were used in their testing books.

I continued to write after graduating college in 1994, with most of my work initially being for education publishers. Many of my stories were used in educational projects.

In 2007, I got my first official book break when I was asked to write a book for Capstone Press. The book was about the “secrets of a dollar bill,” and focused on the symbols found on American money. I was hooked. Over time I have written more than 70 books for children and adults. Topics include pirates, the NBA, playing soccer, fossil fuels, the Alamo, the Louisiana Purchase, bats, different jobs, magnetism, ghosts, and sportsmanship just to name name a few.