Almost four decades ago, while teaching history at Arapahoe Community College, I wrote my first history, Wet Mountain Valley. Amazingly, this short history of the valley between the Wet Mountains and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Colorado is still in print 36-years later! Next, was a history of Denver, typed sitting on the floor while holding my infant daughter in my arms.

I earned my doctorate at the University of Denver while raising my children, Bryce, Kendra, and Ross. When I became a college administrator, the only writing I did for two decades were memos and grants.

When my husband and publisher, Howard, and I moved to California, we looked for short histories of the California towns we loved, and found none. It was then that a dream was born: As soon as I could retire, I would begin writing short, comprehensive histories of the towns we love. To make this dream a reality, Howard gained computer graphic and publication skills while I began researching and writing about our favorite towns.

Since retiring from my role as Dean at Santa Barbara City College, we have published seven HarborTown Histories: Catalina Island, Santa Barbara, Cambria, Newport Beach, Point Reyes, and San Diego. Additionally, two BoomTown Histories, Denver, and Wet Mountain Valley have joined our parade of short histories.

We are new Canadians! On one of our sailing adventures, we fell in love with Salt Spring Island. During summers we now explore British Columbia and build our new home. while winters are spent on our sailboat, exploring Mexican harbor towns with our beloved Portuguese Water Dog, Caira.

Maybe we will see you at one of your favorite harbor towns.