I grew up in Minnesota in a Norwegian-American family. Although I was born in Minneapolis, I spent summers with my mother at our family cabin on an island in a lake fifteen miles shy of the Canadian border. My mother was an artist and I was a dreamer...and a reader. This place is where I began my life as a writer.

My life’s journey has led me far from my northern Minnesota roots, though. While in college, I ventured even further north, to Norway, the land of my ancestors where I immersed myself in the Norwegian culture and learned the language. I attended Nansenskolen in Lillehammer, the school named after Fridjof Nansen, a famed arctic explorer. Little did I know that I would follow Nansen's footsteps, north to the Arctic-- as an explorer of life--to live in Utqiaġvik, home of the Iñupiat, the real people. There I found a mentor who taught me to see the world through Iñupiaq eyes. It was a good world. I married this man, George Edwardson, whose grandfather, as it turned out, was Norwegian. Isn’t it funny how life works?

George and I raised seven kids. Somewhere in the midst of raising seven children, I decided I wanted to write for young people because—hey— I was reading a lot of children's books, and let's face it, some of the most talented writers alive are writing for young people. I published my first book in 2003. In 2005, when I was 54 years old, I went back to school and got a master's degree in writing for children and young adults from the Vermont College of the Fine Arts. Best decision ever! I have, since graduation, published two, going on three, more books. 

In 2010,  my oldest brother Dave and his wife Barb died, leaving me their cabin on a little island in Elbow Lake, the lake of my childhood. How good it has been to return to spend summers there again!  (see that stand of pines on the right side of this photo? That's my island!)

I even hosted a series of writer's retreats at Elbow Lake--LoonSong for children's writers and LoonSong at Turtle Island for Native American children's writers. Founded with Marion Dane Bauer and Jane Buchanan, LoonSong hosted some great writers: Katherine Patterson, Kathi Appelt, Will Alexander, Kekla Magoon, MT Anderson, Gary Schmidt, Julie Berry, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Tim Tingle, Dawn Quigley, Nikki Grimes,  Candace Fleming, Varien Johnson, and Bruce Coville. We had enjoyed support from publishers like Candlewick and Charlesbridge.

I grew up at this little lake, reading and dreaming of becoming an author--and in the end, I got to not only become an author---I got to bring famous authors to my beloved lake retreat.  Life is full of wonderful surprises, don't you think?