I am the proud co-parent of two derpy doxie mixes. I also have two amazingly talented daughters and a brilliant and funny spousal unit who is also a writer, a musician, and a (mostly) retired engineer. Take a moment to get to know all of them under the Layla Dog Press tab.

Even though I have a Bachelor of Arts in Government from University of Texas at Austin and a Masters of Teaching from the College of New Jersey, my whole career has been in writing, communications, and some sort of marketing and design. Since 2011, I've been the principal editor as well as the interior and cover designer for Blank Slate Press and Amphorae Publishing Group, a small independent publisher. Review a selection of cover designs under Portfolio.

I've also worked as a freelance editor and designer, and between my various projects, I have been involved in over 160 book projects. Titles I have worked on have garnered starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and have won numerous accolades including Benjamin Franklin awards, IPPYs, and a Gold Medal for Outstanding Book of the Year from Independent Publishers in the Peacemakers category.

My first solo book was Oracles of Delphi (under the pen name Marie Savage (my middle name and my great grandmother's surname) and I'm co-author, along with those talented daughters of mine, of The Seeds Trilogy (The Sowing, The Reaping, and The Harvest). My latest solo novels are The Trouble with Roommates and The Alchemist of Aleppo. I currently work in communications at a major research university.