About Me

I was born and raised in Las Vegas, NV, which didn’t seem terribly exotic to me until I realized that for most kids “hanging out at the mall” didn’t mean hanging out at the Caesar’s Palace Forum Shops, and that most girls didn’t have Vegas Showgirls as their ballet teachers, and that 120 degrees isn’t “normal” weather in most places, even in August.  When it was time for college, I left Sin City for the (slightly cooler) clime of southern California, and I’ve been in L.A. ever since.

As a child, I could almost always be found in two places: dancing on stage, or reading backstage.  Books and performing were my two first loves.  They were a means of escape, not because my life was so terrible that I needed it, but because they opened doors to experiences I couldn’t otherwise explore.  They were worlds full of passion, excitement, stories, and adventures.

Me as McCavity (in a local dance production) at age 16 in Las Vegas

I continued to dance and perform into adulthood, and I was never to be found without at least one novel in my purse wherever I went, but it still wasn’t enough.  I obtained a B.A. in Communication, with a minor in Performing Arts Studies, and promptly started a job in administration at a major hospital after graduating.  But my creative desires weren’t satisfied with sitting at a desk all day, editing academic articles and writing research grants.

One of my many, many, MANY bookshelves

So I decided to write a novel.

I’ve always loved romance, fantasy, time-travel, sci-fi, and paranormal, and that’s what I write.  I completed my first novel the day before I turned 30, a contemporary romantic suspense entitled Dancing with Danger, which was published in May 2012 by Red Sage (take a sneak peak at the first chapter here!)  It won first place in the 2011 Spring into Romance Contest (hosted by the San Diego chapter of RWA), and an earlier version of the manuscript placed third in the 2011 Winter Rose Contest (hosted by Yellow Rose Romance Writers).

I am currently in progress on a fantasy/paranormal romance, and also stay busy as a contributing journalist for Mercutio Magazine and serve as editor of LARA Confidential, the newsletter for my Romance Writers of America chapter, Los Angeles Romance Authors (LARA).

Thank you for visiting my site!  Feel free to stick around and read some samples of my work.  I am always open to comments and feedback.

Write the book you’ve always wanted to read, and always dance like no one is watching,

Laura

Me and my husband at our wedding in August 2005