I grew up in a small Louisiana town where stories were practically a form of currency. Everybody had one, everybody knew yours, and if the facts weren't quite interesting enough, somebody was usually willing to help them along (Ahem...just a little bit.)

Somewhere between then and now, I became a wife, a mother, an empty nester, a grandmother, and—eventually—the woman who finally decided to finish all the stories she'd been scribbling for years and a few more still rolling around in her head.

I write Southern women's fiction as Dollie Jean—stories about complicated women, complicated families, homecomings, romance, secrets, second chances, and all those messy bits we call life.

Turns out, you can leave a small backwoods town, but getting the small backwoods town out of your stories (or outta your heart) is another matter entirely.

I also write Dolliciously Me, where I tell the other kind of stories—the ones I experience firsthand while stepping off the beaten path, discovering strange little places, eating great food, traveling near and far, spending time with family, and occasionally making decisions that seemed perfectly reasonable at the time.

I Didn't Exactly Take the Direct Route Here

I’ve been writing for as far back as I can remember. As my mother tells it, I've apparently been inflicting stories on innocent bystanders since before I was literate. As a tot, I was creating stories in my head about my family of stuffed animals and regaling my mother (and other poor innocents) with their adventures daily.

I recall one particular aunt taking offense to my imagination and telling my mother that if she didn’t “beat that outta me,” I would grow up incapable of telling the truth.

Fortunately, my mother did not agree with this assessment. 

And here we are.

I have written songs, poetry, skits, books, novels, games, and LARPs. Some have been published, some created purely for the enjoyment of friends and family, and some have spent years patiently waiting for me to get my act together.

Better late than never. 🤷‍♀️

A Few Things You Should Probably Know

I'm Louisiana born and raised, which means feeding people is both a love language and a reflex.

I'll choose the back road almost every time. (Despite the lack of accessible toilets.)

I've lived abroad, traveled plenty, and remain convinced some of the best places are the ones you find purely by accident.

I believe family can make you crazy, put your life at risk and save your life, occasionally before lunch on the same day. (I'm looking at you, Bob!)

I will absolutely pull over for something weird on the side of the road.

And I've reached the age where I have very little interest in becoming who I'm supposed to be.

Some of my fiction will become novels. Some of my personal stories will become essays. Some will probably just become evidence that I should not be allowed to plan unsupervised road trips. (Or just plan anything unsupervised...)

You're welcome to come along for all of them.

Back roads. Good food. Stories the pictures don't tell.