I'm the author of "They Only Eat Their Husbands: A Memoir of Alaskan Love, World Travel, and the Power of Running Away" (Nov 2010, Ghost Road Press). At 26, after a lover threatened to kill me, I ran away to Alaska. This memoir explores my nine years in the Last Frontier, where I ended up in a series of destructive relationships with alcoholics, and the year I backpacked around the world alone in search of recovery and discovery.

I'm the creator of "Girls Trek Too," a blog dedicated to inspiring women to approach life as an adventure. An avid traveler, writer, and photographer, I've journeyed throughout Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe, and most of the 50 United States.

I've worked as a TV reporter in Alaska and North Carolina. My articles have appeared in such publications as The Los Angeles Times, Denver Post, and Santa Fe New Mexican. I've written for shows on HGTV, Food Network, and Discovery Health. I now write and edit books for clients, and coach and teach workshops for aspiring writers. My current personal writing project is a historical novel, loosely based on the history of my Mexican-Chinese American grandmother.

My husband and I got married at an active volcano in Costa Rica, survived both dangers, and now live in Denver.