Michele first discovered her creative spark in sixth grade during an art class. Although she joked about having no artistic talent, she still fondly remembers the joy of molding a piggybank from a simple block of clay. As the years passed, Michele wasn’t quite sure how to channel her creativity into a lifelong pursuit, so she chose a practical path—earning a degree in International Finance at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

It wasn’t until her final semester that her creative fire was reignited during a journalism course focused on advertising. Crafting a fictional ad campaign for Visa was exhilarating. But life called, and once again, her creative ambitions were set aside in favor of a job in corporate America and the practicalities of student loans.

Time moved on. A summer wedding brought with it God’s blessings—the arrival of a spirited baby girl, followed two years later by an adventurous boy. A decade later, on Mother’s Day, when her children asked her how she wanted to spend her special day, Michele made a simple request to sit in the sunshine on the deck with a good fiction book. That quiet day turned out to be life-changing. As she read the work of another author, inspiration sparked. She realized she too had a story to share.

In August 2012, Michele answered the call. Writing her novel became a labor of love, squeezed between her children’s activities, late-night writing sessions when the house was fast asleep, and weekends clicking away at a keyboard. Despite the challenges, crafting her novel has been one of the greatest joys of her life.

A near-native of Denver, Colorado, Michele is fortunate to have her adult children, Mackenzie and Matthew, nearby. The Price of Truth is her debut novel and the first installment in the Chasing Peace series.