So glad you stopped by. Come on in and I’ll make us some tea.

Maybe we should talk a while to get to know each other. I’ll go first. Since I love lists, I’ll share one with you.

 

1.  Both sets of my grandparents emigrated to America from Greece.

2.  When I was five, my family visited Greece for six months. I was in a barn with my brother Gus, who told me to come by him. I told him I was scared of the cow. Gus told me the cow wouldn’t hurt me. Gus was wrong.

3.  We once had two rabbits named the Lone Ranger and Tonto. They were really for my Grandpa’s grocery store, but no one told me.

4.  As a little girl I used to climb onto a comfy chair at my Aunt Jeanette’s house to read Robert Louis Stevenson’s book,  A Child’s Garden of Verses. And I got hooked on poetry.

5.  I realized my love for writing when I won a writing contest in the 5th grade.

6.  I tried out for a musical and made it, but never sang a note.

7.  Training to be a grocery cashier, I once chased a customer out of the store over a couple packages of Koolaid. I was not fired.

8. The best souvenir I brought home from Germany was my infant daughter.

9. I returned to school after a twenty-five year leave, and graduated with honors.

10. One of my poems, I’d Marry You Again, was shown on Extreme Makeover House Edition.

11. I have written and published over 42 Bible studies as well as about 30 articles with Christianity Today. Articles like this one, and this one, and even this one.

12. I am a Tribe Writer and once interviewed Jeff Goins.

13. My sister was the victim of domestic violence. I wrote about her story in BROKEN: A Story of Abuse and Survival.

14. Since 2012, I have published 14 books, including my memoir, children’s books, and poetry grief books.

15.  One of my articles, Don’t Make These 3 Mistakes When Giving,  reached 32K people and was one of their top posts in 2014.

16. See the trailer for my first children’s book, Emma’s Wish, a collaboration with my daughter, Jessica Peterson.

17. I am tenacious, although my family spells it –  s t u b b o r n.

18. I am technologically challenged. Ask my daughter.

Well the water’s boiling again. Ready for a second cup? Let me bring out some cookies.