About the Author

In her mid-30s, Hovenkotter returned to college to complete her degree in communications. She had focused on creative writing, specifically fiction, but sometimes regretted her normal, fairly easy-even boring-life, believing it was a detriment to being a great writer. What does one write about when being a middle-class wife and mother with a fairly pedestrian career resume? Little did she know then the tsunamis of change and emotion would engulf her life and carry her to a completely different shore. As a freelance writer she has written hundreds of articles for various publications, including The Oregonian, the Catholic Sentinel, and other newspapers and magazines. She also worked as the Communications and Public Relations Manager for a social service nonprofit organization in Oregon prior to her ten years of work for the U.S. Senate. Although vacationing in a pickup and camper as a young wife, and later in a travel trailer with her husband and children, this time Hovenkotter researched, bought, maintained, and drove the motor home nearly all the 25,000 miles traveled, and researched the routes, did the setup and take-down, hooked up the car to tow; pretty much did everything involved in making this happen. She now lives with her golden retriever Charlie near Portland, Oregon.