I spend time with Matthew. I've been married since 1992 to Matthew Mactyre, the best human being I've ever met. I was married at 19, so I'll let you do the math.

I'm the mother of a new baby. Eden Alexandra was born June 4, 2007. She was four weeks early at 4 lbs 13 oz -- but only spent one night in the NICU and came home with us on June 6!

I blog. Visit the Menagerie.

And write fiction and gaming material. It's been a while since I've had a lot of time to write, sadly, but I have a new novel just waiting to get out when I get the chance! HERO Games published my PRIMUS book in 1998, and I've written a couple of articles for them, too. I've just signed a contract to write another book, this one about life in Revolutionary America & France, the Napoleonic Wars, and the English Regency!

I garden. I have a teeny backyard (smaller than our first apartment, I'd say), but it's just enough for me to handle with this crazy schedule.

Sometimes I read for fun. I read a lot more non-fiction than fiction. And when I do permit myself to read fiction, it tends towards the classics: I love Jane Austen, Fanny Burney, and Anthony Trollope. When I read non-fiction, it's naval history (Age of Sail), Hanoverian English History, Islamic feminism (ya, there is such a thing) and occasionally a memoir or two. Guilty reading: Iain Pears, Kate Ross, Guy Gavriel Kay, Teresa Edgerton, Rex Stout.

Everyday I take care of the menagerie. Over the years we've had eight ferrets (not all at once!), a Blue Heeler (Nessa) and a much-beloved Border Collie (Nika). For now, our menagerie is just our three-legged Belgian Malinois, Norris.

Miscellaneous

• I have a severe tree nut allergy.
• I graduated from this university and this law school. Not bad for a high school dropout, no?
• I shop at this grocery store.