I began to write as a way to describe the process of healing for individuals whose early home life was inadequate for them to function as whole healthy people.  At that time, 1990, I had been working as a psychotherapist for ten years and believed, which I still do, that stories have a more direct impact on the psyche as we tend to be less defended than when we’re “told” things.  My specialty as a therapist was in depth psychology; dreams, myths, and the unconscious, which had led me to study ancient matriarchal cultures–a time when the collective religious beliefs and values formed a strong container for the growth and health of its individuals–I’ve chosen to use those ancient times as a platform on which to demonstrate healing.

I have written three historical novels, and a whole lot of writing that is more contemporary; travel, mystery, and whimsical adult fairytales.  This site will introduce you to each of them.  The whimsical and travel pieces can be read on this site; I’m happy to share them outright, as well as the research for the historical novels.

My other passion has been photography and painting.  Almost all of the photographs on the site are mine and there’s a page for the most recent paintings.

 

Novels:

The Jaguar’s House

Set at the height of the Mayan civilization.  The Classic Maya created a civilization of astonishing sophistication, invention and harmony. Based on an understanding of mathematics and astronomy, they conceived of the world as based on time and transformation. Their home in the Yucatan was the enlightened Athens of our hemisphere.

Drawing on actual events and beliefs of the Mayan culture, the story follows the journey of a young girl, Balamka, as she learns about the deep feminine wisdom held in the land and the need for that knowledge to be brought to her people. The novel is one of spiritual awakening in the midst of love and betrayal, religion and transcendence, where the needs of the gods will be fulfilled by mankind, and human culture will regain it‘s balance.

Echo the Ancients

The Minoan story is set during the cultures high palace period; 1550 BC. These ancient people  lived on the island of Crete, and on several other Mediterranean islands, from 6000 to 1500 BC. They disappeared without a trace until archaeological evidence was unearthed early in the 20th Century.

In current time, fourteen-year-old Gloria is living on Crete in 1954. Her father is studying the archaeological remains of the ancient culture.  Although the Greek island in the Mediterranean Sea is bright and sunny, Gloria lives under the dark shadow of her emotionally and mentally disturbed mother.

Worried about his lonely, withdrawn daughter, Gloria’s father hires a local woman, Andromache, to be her tutor and companion. As Gloria struggles to discover who she is and where she’s going while meeting the demands of her mother’s illness, Andromache brightens her world with an intricate tale about people in a fascinating culture that worshipped the Great Goddess and valued love, community, art, and nature.

The Nobility of the Robe is revised and available, spring 2016

This story of a real historical character and a modern-day thriller is told in two time lines: the present and 17th Century France.

Claire Blaise is a 21st Century physicist with a passion for the past. Haunted by dreams of a woman in mortal danger in 17th Century Paris, she’s compelled to try to rescue her. In order to do that, she must first discover the technology necessary to reach her.  A brilliant scientist renowned in her field, Claire is led to a highly secret project in Iceland where funds are provided for her research by an unknown source. Intrigue over Claire’s technology heats up when she learns that her notes have been stolen and further events cause her to fear, not only for her work, but for her life.

Woven with Claire’s efforts, the novel tells the true life story of Jacqueline Arnauld; known to history as la Mere Angelique. Sent against her will to become the abbess of Port Royal abbey near Paris at eight years old, young Jacqueline is rebellious, willful, intelligent and charming. Through her early years, she resents her fate and longs for a normal life with marriage and children. She also rails against the conditions at the abbey where all semblance of religious practice has been lost, and the women live lives devoid of meaning.

At 16, after a powerful spiritual experience, la Mere Angelique resolves to reform the abbey. For the next 30 years, her many trials and successes are chronicled as she becomes instrumental in improving conditions, not only within her own abbey, but in the Catholic Church in France. Famous in her lifetime, she aligns with others in a movement known as the Jansenist Heresy; one of the most serious schisms in the history of the Church. Fighting against a backlash from the liberal Jesuits, King Louis XIVth, and two consecutive popes, the battle rages for years with la Mere Angelique in the center of the controversy.

It is to this climatic point that Claire is ultimately drawn. Finally able to time-travel, she goes to 17th Century Paris where she meets Angelique and learns of her troubles. She also discovers a passionate love for la Mere’s brother, Antoine, who is a writer and orator for the Jansenist cause. However, Claire’s enemies in Iceland trick her into returning to her own time when her memory is brought into question as her unknown rivals conspire to force her to reveal the secrets of her research. Will Claire be able to uncover the plot against her and return to the 17th Century in time to save those she’s come to love?