5 Fast Facts About Katrina:
- I have listened to victims of tornadoes, cholera, fire, and war, which are recorded in my books.
- My husband Marnell and I met January 23, 2016 at a women’s conference! (He was running sound and I was leading a workshop.)
- I have two birthdays, legal and real. When I was born in Goshen, Indiana, Dr. Abel wrote 5-23-1982 on my birth certificate. The date was June 23, but no one noticed his mistake until we went to get my driver’s permit.
- When I was a teenager, I crocheted doilies and sold them at the farmer’s market in Wausau, WI.
- I have touched a beating human heart. See my reflections here!
Finding Joy in Ordinary Life
Growing up on a Mennonite produce farm, I created brothers Terry, Gary, and Larry, to help pass the time doing chores. I told stories about them to my brother as we weeded strawberries, thinned carrots, or washed fresh eggs.
For about a decade, I wrote books for adults through a Mennonite publishing house, including From the White House to the Amish, Blue Christmas, and Captain Garrison. I enjoyed traveling, researching, and interviewing for seven books. I also shared my life as a cardiac nurse and member of an inner city Anabaptist church on my weekly blog.
Now my husband Marnell and I have a child of our own and I am returning to my own childhood by writing a children’s adventure series, in addition to a weekly blog post.
- I write about Brady Street, beggars, our new daughter Anina, and the occasional bullets. My husband and I live in a neighborhood many would call broken. A knock on the door often means a request for money, a phone call, coffee creamer, or a ride to the doctor.
- I write about my own struggles with overeating and depression.
- August 2022: Kidnapped in Haiti: the amazing story of seventeen missionaries.
- Beginning July 2021 – The Brady Street Boys Indiana Adventure Series
Fresh adventure series with old values: fruit of the Spirit, Christian living, overcoming disability. Nine books planned to match the nine fruit of the Spirit.
Book One: Trapped in the Tunnel ~ Terry, Gary, and Larry set out to investigate the map given to them by the red-haired antique dealer. They must prove to their parents that the neighborhood is safe. But then, the detective work backfires, and the boys are trapped.
Book Two: Facing the Fugitive – 2021.
- Book Three: Noise in the Night – 2022
- Book Four: Tricked on the Tracks – fall/winter 2022
- Arrived October 2020 – From the White House to the Amish.
- Published 2011-2019: Cholera. Tornadoes. Fires. Faces of Syria. Voices of Syria. Captain Garrison.
NOTE: Currently, we are not actively producing new podcast episodes in either division.
- 500 Words – ten podcasts drawing lessons from ten years as a published author. This series originated May 2020.
- Voices of Survival – Currently unavailable.