I was born in Philadelphia, and grew up beside a beautiful lake in the hills of Northeastern Pennsylvania.  I had two brothers and one sister.  You can read about what it was like growing up in my family in my memoir: “The Green Dog: A Mostly True Story.”

I graduated from Keystone College and Cedar Crest College, where I majored in literature and political science.  I’ve always loved reading and writing, and I’ve always dreamed of traveling.  So when I graduated from college I went to work for a newspaper. 

Eventually I became a foreign news reporter in Hong Kong, where I worked for United Press International.  I moved to India and became the chief of UPI’s South Asia bureau, where I reported on the news from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. 

I moved back to the United States and went to work for The Washington Post on their foreign news desk for a short time, but when I had an opportunity to return to Pakistan I jumped at the chance.  I went to work under a contract for the US Agency for International Development on a literacy project in the Cholistan Desert.  While I was there I listened to the stories women told about their lives.  Those stories became the basis for my first novel, “Shabanu Daughter of the Wind.”

I’m married to Wayne Harley, who was my first love.  We live in Pennsylvania, on a farm with three cats and three standard poodles named Bogey, Mango, and BB King.

I work now mostly as a novelist.  Every year I try to take at least one trip to a place I’ve never been before.  In 2007 I went to Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai. 

The world is a beautiful, diverse place, and culture is one of its greatest gifts.  I love learning about other cultures and discovering people who in most ways are just like me.