about joan
as an author . . .
It was as a graduate intern at a Sacramento CBS-affiliate television station that I stumbled into a story that became the bedrock for my 1992 nonfiction book, Little Girl Lost. You can read more about the book, along with an excerpt, here. Since its publication, I've continued to write for both newspapers and magazines.
I was enormously gratified to receive awards from the Society of Professional Journalists as well as Writer's Digest magazine for my article on a one-time homophobic father's efforts to deal with his gay son's emergence from the closet and diagnosis of--and eventual death from--AIDS.
More recently, I was awarded an Honorable Mention from the New Millennium Writers for my piece on the tuberculosis epidemic at the turn of the 20th century.
You can read those articles, and a smattering of my other writing projects, here.
In February of 2020 I published a full-length novel, A Just Reckoning; 10 months later, I published the 2nd book in the Tess Alexander mystery series, A Cruel Oblivion. You can can read about those books here.
Since 2012, I've written a newspaper column on life with dogs called "Casey's Corner," which is syndicated in two California papers.
other sides of my life . . .
In my role as a communications consultant, I began working with a local animal rescue nonprofit organization, AnimalSave, in 2013. I lead their annual fundraising campaign, promote a variety of events throughout the year, and manage their website. Read more here.
For more than 20 years, I've taught communication studies at Sierra College, a northern California community college. I've also been very active in part-time faculty issues during those years.
In the past, I've been just about everything except the bearded lady at the circus: I created and administered a nonprofit child abuse prevention organization, owned my own retail clothing business, been a real estate appraiser and sold real estate, worked in fine jewelry, been the Assistant Director and Public Relations Director for a nonprofit volunteer organization, taught writing classes for Writer's Digest Schools as well as adult and community colleges, helped found a community-based AIDS organization, worked as an elder abuse victim assistant for a county-wide Victim-Witness agency, and was a founding Executive Council Member of the Sierra College Part-time Faculty Association. I could go on, but don't want to bore you.
Anyone who know me knows I'm a huge fan of Golden Retrievers.
My first Golden came to me in 1995, followed by a second one a year later. In the spring of 2010 I brought another Golden into my life from the amazing people at Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, where I've adopted all my dogs since. Casey soon became a certified Therapy Dog through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs.
2012 saw the birth of my monthly "Casey's Corner" column. Three years later, I lost Casey...but hearts being by their very nature resilient, a few months later I adopted my fourth Golden, a sweet and handsome blonde boy named Joey, who also became a Therapy Dog. I lost Joey in June of 2023...but in December of that year, I adopted a beautiful 2-year-old Golden girl, Frankie. I'm truly not sure I could ever manage to live without a dog. Most especially, a Golden.
goldens . . .
and personally speaking . . .
One of my biggest passions--alongside Golden Retrievers—is gardening, which I've been doing for almost as long as I've been walking and talking. I've been known to spend summer days very literally from just after dawn to sunset tending and nurturing my garden.
I live in the Sierra Nevada mountains of Northern California with my Maine Coon cat Indy, my Golden Retriever Frankie, and the ever-abiding spirits of my beloved Casey and Joey.