About Me . . .
I grew up in rural southern Idaho in the country with neighbors who lived sometimes miles distant from our house that was situated on the hill near the "graveyard". Our road also lead past the cemetery to the "junk yard". We had many adventures with my aunts and uncles fishing, hiking, picnicking in the summer, and snowmobiling in the winter when we weren't skiing. We raised a few cattle, always chickens, and a garden. We also raised our own meat: pigs, sheep, cows, roosters, and hunted for deer in the fall. I had lots of adventures growing with no smog, factory pollution, and water from our own well. We had access to the entire mountains and valleys surrounding our beautiful home. I am blessed to have such a rich heritage of self-sufficiency. I learned to cook, sew, can, fish, quilt, bake, hunt, and many things that my children have not learned growing up in the city.
Clyde Creek Ranch where my mother grew up. This was taken when we went to look at the log home where my mother grew up. These were most likely my Grandpa Chandler's work boots.
Taken with family photos at the Murray Park
Clyde Creek Ranch where my mother grew up. This was taken when we went to look at the log home where my mother grew up. These were most likely my Grandpa Chandler's work boots.
When I began attending college at Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho) in Rexburg, Idaho, I was an art major and wanted to follow in the steps of my artist mother. However, with a music background, a love for sports, and poetry, I aspired to be a writer, not a school teacher after serving an LDS Church Mission to Tallahassee, Florida. I met and married Lynn Wixom, an Idaho Dairyman and planned to live "happily-ever-after" in rural Idaho on a farm raising calves, children, and cats. After a year of poor weather, we sold our cows and moved to Provo, Utah for Lynn to finish a Master's Degree in Science Education to become a science teacher. He urged me to complete my Bachelor's Degree at Brigham Young University (BYU). Well, it took a while, due to minor setbacks like nearly dying of food poisoning, an infection after baby number three, heart transplant in California for baby number 5, and on and on. Last year and nine children later, I finally finished an English Degree at BYU, driving to Provo most of the time 3-5 times a week. But, before that, I had already written many poems, children's stories, and mother's autobiography (I was the co-author).
I hope to make my books available to a world audience. I'm tired of living in the smoggy city and long for fresh air again and to wade barefoot through the creek and go on picnics in the summer sunshine without hundreds of others descending on our gathering. I established my own book company TNT Books 20 years ago and haven't done much about it in the past 13 years. I hope to tell timeless stories that will be your favorites as well as mine. About 7 years ago I asked my oldest daughter what her favorite children's book was and she said, " A Princess, Dragon, & Baker", a book I had written a long time ago. I had nearly forgotten about it since I had never found a way to market it. I decided to make it into a stage play for children with music, since I love musicals. It is a children's opera--running time about one hour. Life is hectic and awesome, and too short to find the dirt in life. I look at the stars and wonder and think and dream--still.
