SpireSpire Round Two Participants:
Patricia: To Write a Symphony by March 1st, 2013.
Patricia is a junior at a Naperville high school, where she plays bass and sings in every ensemble her directors will let her join. Her best friend is her metronome, and she is rarely if ever seen without a large travel mug of tea. She WILL talk your ear off about music history and theory if given the chance, so you probably shouldn't bring those up.
One of her absolute greatest passions is composing. She has written several pieces for choir as well as a few doodlings for piano and several rather embarrassing string ensembles from very early in her career that she would rather not talk about. Patricia's dream is to be the Leonard Bernstein of the Internet age and make the world fall in love with classical music again (but in all honesty she'd be happy just making a living wage off lessons, commissions, and free-lance jobs). First, however, she would like to write her first symphony.
One of her absolute greatest passions is composing. She has written several pieces for choir as well as a few doodlings for piano and several rather embarrassing string ensembles from very early in her career that she would rather not talk about. Patricia's dream is to be the Leonard Bernstein of the Internet age and make the world fall in love with classical music again (but in all honesty she'd be happy just making a living wage off lessons, commissions, and free-lance jobs). First, however, she would like to write her first symphony.
Christian: To Take his new Band on Tour by March 1st, 2013.
Christian is a two-time Spire Choir participant, and there are several parallels between the first and second round that need to be pointed out. His name is still Christian Lyon, he's still a musician and I still rely heavily on friends. Many things have changed since last year, however.
One of the most important ideas that last year instilled in him is that uncertainty and terror can be overcome. Spirespire gave Christian a reason to turn all the fear into an energy that would eventually help catapult him into more success than he would have guessed. It was a long, long journey to get to this point, and I’m ready to begin its second installment…but we’re doing things a little differently this time.
Switching from the singer-songwriter outfit, Christian started a band that looks very promising. His major goal for the year will be to take this band on tour by March 1st, 2013 (If the world still exists). Writing new music, playing more shows and meeting new people along the way is all in the agenda for the next 12 months, and he can’t wait to tell you about it every Sunday night.
One of the most important ideas that last year instilled in him is that uncertainty and terror can be overcome. Spirespire gave Christian a reason to turn all the fear into an energy that would eventually help catapult him into more success than he would have guessed. It was a long, long journey to get to this point, and I’m ready to begin its second installment…but we’re doing things a little differently this time.
Switching from the singer-songwriter outfit, Christian started a band that looks very promising. His major goal for the year will be to take this band on tour by March 1st, 2013 (If the world still exists). Writing new music, playing more shows and meeting new people along the way is all in the agenda for the next 12 months, and he can’t wait to tell you about it every Sunday night.
Amanda: To get Cast in a Second City Mainstage Show by March 1st, 2013.
Amanda Anderson has been a performer all her life. Whether it was putting together shows with all the neighborhood kids at family parties when she was in grade school, or touring as a back up dancer for Fall Out Boy, it has always been in her blood. Amanda was created to create art and love. With that said, she has been labeled, "jack of all trades-- master of none," countless times and rightfully so. Joining SpireSpire has really forced her to organize her talents, passions, and give herself a game plan. Originally Amanda is from the northwest suburbs of Chicago, but have recently moved out to North Hollywood, Ca to continue her growth as an actor and sharpen her craft in all of its aspects. Since moving out here she has had the privilege of being cast in one of LA's top improv comedy groups. Performing with them has been absolutely life-changing, to say the least.
On that note, it got her thinking back to one of her biggest goals in life. That is to become a cast member of the acclaimed NBC sketch show Saturday Night Live. She knows that that is a HUGE goal and takes a million steps, but is something she has decided to focus all of her tenacity towards.
This next year, her goal is to return to her hometown of Chicago to join The Second City. She will be auditioning for their conservatory program this March in the hopes to complete a six-level journey to the Second City Mainstage. By this time next year, her goal is to have been cast in at least one of Second City's Mainstage revues, the main casting pool for SNL. Amanda is completely thrilled to share her artistic process, growth, and triumphs with my fellow dreamers as well as SpireSpire readers!
On that note, it got her thinking back to one of her biggest goals in life. That is to become a cast member of the acclaimed NBC sketch show Saturday Night Live. She knows that that is a HUGE goal and takes a million steps, but is something she has decided to focus all of her tenacity towards.
This next year, her goal is to return to her hometown of Chicago to join The Second City. She will be auditioning for their conservatory program this March in the hopes to complete a six-level journey to the Second City Mainstage. By this time next year, her goal is to have been cast in at least one of Second City's Mainstage revues, the main casting pool for SNL. Amanda is completely thrilled to share her artistic process, growth, and triumphs with my fellow dreamers as well as SpireSpire readers!
Jess: To Live in Another Country by March 1st, 2013.
Jess is a recent college graduate from North Central College in Naperville. She has a dual degree in English Literature and Spanish. Two of her part time jobs include working at Feed My Starving Children and at school as a writing tutor. She’s been incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to live in Costa Rica and also visit Nicaragua, Ireland and Brazil. Over the course of her travels her plans for the future have changed drastically. Once interested in teaching high school English, she has instead found her passion in multicultural affairs. While career plans for post-graduation life are still up in the air, she does know one thing for certain: she wants to travel.
This past December, Brazil was a life changing experience for her. She returned to the States as a completely different person with a completely different outlook on life. Reconciling this has been a slow process and she still has a lot of work to do but she is hoping it will help her grow throughout her time at SpireSpire.
Jess’ goal, in a nutshell, is that by next March she wants to be living in another country. How she’s going to do this is the project at hand, but she’s excited for the challenge!
This past December, Brazil was a life changing experience for her. She returned to the States as a completely different person with a completely different outlook on life. Reconciling this has been a slow process and she still has a lot of work to do but she is hoping it will help her grow throughout her time at SpireSpire.
Jess’ goal, in a nutshell, is that by next March she wants to be living in another country. How she’s going to do this is the project at hand, but she’s excited for the challenge!
Rebecca: To Film the first twelve Episodes of her Steampunk Genre Web Series by March 1st, 2013.
Rebecca Frohling is a writer, which is fancy talk for “unemployed”. Her other, more substantial and socially accepted job is that of mother to her two kids (although sometimes she counts her long-suffering husband as the third). Prior to now, she held roughly ten years worth of office jobs. Fulfilling as that was, she found her brain longing to be engaged by stuff she actually considered interesting. This desire, combined with a sudden strong drive to do what she wants to do in life (hm, early mid-life crisis, perhaps?) has led her to join SpireSpire.
Many goals and dreams burn hot, but the one that sets the roof on fire is the one that brings her here today. Her love of the Steampunk genre has inspired an epic script, one she’s actually not completely embarrassed to show to other people! This script has composed itself in three parts, each part being approximately 12 chapters. It is a story that would make an excellent web series. No… it will make an excellent web series.
Rebecca’s Goal: To have the first 12 episodes (a complete first part) filmed, with at least the first three online, in the next year.
Many goals and dreams burn hot, but the one that sets the roof on fire is the one that brings her here today. Her love of the Steampunk genre has inspired an epic script, one she’s actually not completely embarrassed to show to other people! This script has composed itself in three parts, each part being approximately 12 chapters. It is a story that would make an excellent web series. No… it will make an excellent web series.
Rebecca’s Goal: To have the first 12 episodes (a complete first part) filmed, with at least the first three online, in the next year.
Amy: To Fund a new Kiln using only money from her Fused Glasswares Work by March 1st, 2013.
Amy is a California transplant who has lived in the Chicagoland suburbs for nearly 19 years now (whoa!). People have often asked her why she moved FROM the sun and fun of California to the harsh winters in the Midwest. “It felt right”, “It was part of my path”, and “Have you been to Fresno?!” are just a few of her answers. And were it not for that move she wouldn’t be here, now, about to embark on her SpireSpire journey.
Employed in IT positions for close to 30 years (yes, she’s by far the oldest member of the Spire Choir), she has often felt like a misfit (“IT wasn’t something I aspired to – I basically fell into my profession and like quicksand haven’t been able to get out since.”). Her right-brained spirit has struggled to free itself from the captivity of her left-brained body, and through the years she has tried her hand at various arts and crafts. Recently, however, she found her one true passion, glass fusing, and longs to make it more than just a hobby. While she has [very] long term visions/ambitions of maybe someday having a glass studio, the more immediate goal is to purchase a bigger kiln in order to boost production (the one she currently has is about the size of a large sink; what she hopes to graduate to will increase her production capacity about threefold)…so the plan for this next year, and her SpireSpire dream, will be to produce the cash, by way of her glass wares, to “finance the expedition”, so to speak…
On your mark….!
Employed in IT positions for close to 30 years (yes, she’s by far the oldest member of the Spire Choir), she has often felt like a misfit (“IT wasn’t something I aspired to – I basically fell into my profession and like quicksand haven’t been able to get out since.”). Her right-brained spirit has struggled to free itself from the captivity of her left-brained body, and through the years she has tried her hand at various arts and crafts. Recently, however, she found her one true passion, glass fusing, and longs to make it more than just a hobby. While she has [very] long term visions/ambitions of maybe someday having a glass studio, the more immediate goal is to purchase a bigger kiln in order to boost production (the one she currently has is about the size of a large sink; what she hopes to graduate to will increase her production capacity about threefold)…so the plan for this next year, and her SpireSpire dream, will be to produce the cash, by way of her glass wares, to “finance the expedition”, so to speak…
On your mark….!
Colin: To Land his Plexiglass Artwork in a Gallery by March 1st, 2013.
Colin Cranmer is a high school and middle school youth pastor at Joy! Lutheran Church in Gurnee, IL. Colin is a weird mix of traits; he loves to build insanely strong structures (the porch steps he built could double as a tornado shelter), grill dead animals, and grow awesome facial hair--but he also paints with abstract art and light, geese allow him to pet them (no joke!), and he plays the saxophone in a house trio called Inertia. After marrying his brilliant and gorgeous wife, Shay, he found out a few months later that he was going to be a Dad to Ena, and now three years later, to their second little girl. Colin is going to be drowning in estrogen. Colin needs to buy some more man-cats.
Anyways, after Ena made her appearance, lots of things changed and art went on the back burner while Colin and Shay learned how to parent this cute small-fry. Because Colin's job is open-ended, meaning there's quirky hours and emergencies and no clean floors or empty truck to look over at the end of the day to create a sense of accomplishment, he noticed that it was easy to feel a lot of stress and growing harder to turn his mind off of his job. TV is helpful for distracting, but left him feeling annoyed. So this year through SpireSpire, he's testing his theory that doing art will relax him far more than distracting himself ever could. Through the year, he will be playing with themes and creating collections of art work to show. His goal is to land his work in an art gallery by the end of the year.
Anyways, after Ena made her appearance, lots of things changed and art went on the back burner while Colin and Shay learned how to parent this cute small-fry. Because Colin's job is open-ended, meaning there's quirky hours and emergencies and no clean floors or empty truck to look over at the end of the day to create a sense of accomplishment, he noticed that it was easy to feel a lot of stress and growing harder to turn his mind off of his job. TV is helpful for distracting, but left him feeling annoyed. So this year through SpireSpire, he's testing his theory that doing art will relax him far more than distracting himself ever could. Through the year, he will be playing with themes and creating collections of art work to show. His goal is to land his work in an art gallery by the end of the year.
Stuart: To Create and Record with his own Band by March 1st, 2013.
Stuart is relatively new to the pursuit of music performance. Despite being raised in a musical family full of professional singers and musicians, he chose a more “practical” career as an IT professional. For over 20 years he has sat quietly at various desks fulfilling numerous different IT positions as a good little corporate employee. It pays the necessary bills but (much like his co-worker and fellow SpireSpire participant Amy) his chosen career has never really sparked excitement in his life and often feels more like a daily trap he can’t escape.
During the past couple years, Stuart has grown from occasional karaoke singer (on nights when perhaps the booze was flowing a little too freely) to a self-admitted karaoke addict. When he performs, he usually receives positive feedback and many often ask where he sings professionally and/or suggest that he should. In the fall of 2011, Stuart began weekly voice lessons with (SpireSpire’s) Shay in order to learn proper warm-up and singing techniques with hopes of expanding his music “career”.
This year, Stuart has chosen to aggressively pursue various goals all related to music and music performance with the hopes of recording music and performing with “his own” live band. He’s excited to join SpireSpire as a means to stay on track to accomplish his goals and encourage others to accomplish theirs as well! “A team is greater than the sum of its parts!”
During the past couple years, Stuart has grown from occasional karaoke singer (on nights when perhaps the booze was flowing a little too freely) to a self-admitted karaoke addict. When he performs, he usually receives positive feedback and many often ask where he sings professionally and/or suggest that he should. In the fall of 2011, Stuart began weekly voice lessons with (SpireSpire’s) Shay in order to learn proper warm-up and singing techniques with hopes of expanding his music “career”.
This year, Stuart has chosen to aggressively pursue various goals all related to music and music performance with the hopes of recording music and performing with “his own” live band. He’s excited to join SpireSpire as a means to stay on track to accomplish his goals and encourage others to accomplish theirs as well! “A team is greater than the sum of its parts!”
Sheri: To Lose and Sustain a Loss of 70 lbs while building a new Relationship with Food and Exercise by March 1st, 2013.
Sheri Warren is a theatre geek who would rather be acting (preferably alongside her super talented and awesome newly wedded husband Chris) than just about anything else. Her days are spent chasing around three year olds at a Kindercare, and her nights and weekends are spent either rehearsing, performing, or watching tv. Oh, and eating. There is lots of eating. Too much eating and not enough moving have packed on about seventy pounds in the last year and a half. Sheri's story will NOT be "I was in shape when I met my husband, but things just kinda spiraled out of control, and then I had kids, and this is just how it is now." She will take her year of Spire Spire to rewrite that story, break the cycle and forge a healthy relationship with food and exercise. Stay tuned!
Not Enough?
Below is the participants from SpireSpire Round One. Feel free to catch up on old stories and poke around here!
SpireSpire Round One Participants:
Matthew
Matthew is excited to be joining SpireSpire for many reasons, the first of which being making the transition from “Matt” back to “Matthew”. Matthew
moved to Illinois at the start of middle school and being at a new
school he was weary to correct people when they called him “Matt” due to
the fear they may just stop talking to him completely... thus, the name
stuck... UNTIL NOW!
When not trying to change his name, Matthew is most likely doing something theatre related. He has performed with multiple companies throughout Chicagoland including, Christian Youth Theatre, Greenroom Productions, and The FCC Players. He’s also served on directing teams for the past three years at Westfield Middle School and for FCC’s Summer production of “The 25th Annual Spelling Bee”. When not doing something theatrical, Matthew is probably feeding his Dr. Pepper addiction OR watching reruns of I Love Lucy, Pushing Daisies, or The Office even though that one is still on the air.
Matthew is pursuing a “mini” goal with SpireSpire. He is going to produce an entire 24 Hour Musical Process which will go up in the Summer of 2011 and will raise enough money through audience donations to fully fund a LIVING WATER INTERNATIONAL Project. LWI is an incredible organization that works to bring freshwater to third world nations.
When not trying to change his name, Matthew is most likely doing something theatre related. He has performed with multiple companies throughout Chicagoland including, Christian Youth Theatre, Greenroom Productions, and The FCC Players. He’s also served on directing teams for the past three years at Westfield Middle School and for FCC’s Summer production of “The 25th Annual Spelling Bee”. When not doing something theatrical, Matthew is probably feeding his Dr. Pepper addiction OR watching reruns of I Love Lucy, Pushing Daisies, or The Office even though that one is still on the air.
Matthew is pursuing a “mini” goal with SpireSpire. He is going to produce an entire 24 Hour Musical Process which will go up in the Summer of 2011 and will raise enough money through audience donations to fully fund a LIVING WATER INTERNATIONAL Project. LWI is an incredible organization that works to bring freshwater to third world nations.
Lexie
Lexie is a recent college graduate living in NYC. She is originally from a kooky family in Birmingham, Alabama who treats their two dachshunds as part of the family. Lexie has grown up in the arts and performed all over the country and world singing, dancing, and acting. She enjoys burnt popcorn, coloring pages, sunflowers, and the smell of dryer sheets.
She is also one of those freaks who is the opposite of a procrastinator, often weeks early turning in any assignment in high school and college. However, since graduation Lexie has found herself lost with no assignments or grades to pursue. This brings her to SpireSpire. Lexie is ready to put her creative restless energy towards something big.
Her goal: To write, create, and perform a one-woman show and present it in New York City by October. See you there!
www.lexiedorsett.com
She is also one of those freaks who is the opposite of a procrastinator, often weeks early turning in any assignment in high school and college. However, since graduation Lexie has found herself lost with no assignments or grades to pursue. This brings her to SpireSpire. Lexie is ready to put her creative restless energy towards something big.
Her goal: To write, create, and perform a one-woman show and present it in New York City by October. See you there!
www.lexiedorsett.com
Kaylynn
Kaylynn is a 23 year-old Zoology student living in central Florida. While chiseling away at her degree, she works as a dog trainer for Petsmart and greatly enjoys her job (playing with puppies for 8 hours a day can't be too shabby). She loves to stay active and athletic by running with her dog, Tuxedo, bodysurfing at the beach and rock climbing whenever her schedule permits. In her free time, she also enjoys baking, creative writing and traveling to anywhere she's never been before.
Kaylynn thrives under conditions that provide variety and new experiences--she also loves a good challenge. To add to her already multi-faceted life and as a stride towards self-improvement, she will learn the French language. Within one year, she will not only be completely conversational in the ultimate romance language, she will put herself to the test by having a conversation with a college-level French professor in order to receive a "grade."
Kaylynn is already planning a trip to France for her birthday as a graduation present to herself.
Kaylynn thrives under conditions that provide variety and new experiences--she also loves a good challenge. To add to her already multi-faceted life and as a stride towards self-improvement, she will learn the French language. Within one year, she will not only be completely conversational in the ultimate romance language, she will put herself to the test by having a conversation with a college-level French professor in order to receive a "grade."
Kaylynn is already planning a trip to France for her birthday as a graduation present to herself.
Matt
Matt Sommerfield is an up and coming actor/stand up comedian from Crystal Lake, Illinois. He started his acting career in high school when he joined CYT Chicago (Christian Youth Theater), performing in nine musical productions with them.
Since then Matt has had the opportunity to be involved in many short films, videos and theater productions as well as being cast as a supporting lead in the popular PC Video Game called S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: – Call of Pripyat.
Matt recently performed in New York City at EastVille Comedy Club where he was asked to be a part of their Rising Stars Showcase. There he performed with comedians Bobby Kelly (Dane Cook’s Tourgasm) and Rachel Feinstein (Last Comic Standing).
Currently Matt does stand up comedy around the Chicagoland area.
Matt's dream is to be a successful film actor/comedian in Hollywood and for this year: to get a role in a Hollywood film/tv show.
For more about Matt go to www.mattsommerfield.com
Since then Matt has had the opportunity to be involved in many short films, videos and theater productions as well as being cast as a supporting lead in the popular PC Video Game called S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: – Call of Pripyat.
Matt recently performed in New York City at EastVille Comedy Club where he was asked to be a part of their Rising Stars Showcase. There he performed with comedians Bobby Kelly (Dane Cook’s Tourgasm) and Rachel Feinstein (Last Comic Standing).
Currently Matt does stand up comedy around the Chicagoland area.
Matt's dream is to be a successful film actor/comedian in Hollywood and for this year: to get a role in a Hollywood film/tv show.
For more about Matt go to www.mattsommerfield.com
Nicole
Nicole Tlapek is a newlywed and recent college grad living with her U.S. Air Force husband in Oxfordshire, England. She is a private voice and piano teacher who is in love with the small pleasures of life such as having many, many decorative pillows on her bed and pouring coffee like its being filmed in a Folgers commercial.
Nicole's new place of life is a great new adventure as she has gone from busy, social, college girl with a job to newly married in a foreign land with a lack of activities. This has given her plenty of time to finally set her eyes on a goal that has been noming on her mind, heart, and fingers for 8 years. This goal is to record an album in two parts. The first album: all original (still to be written) material and the second: a cover album of various piano songs that have had a particularly special meaning to Nicole over the last several years.
To top this goal off, in one year's time, Nicole plans to be marketing her original album in Great Britain.
Nicole's new place of life is a great new adventure as she has gone from busy, social, college girl with a job to newly married in a foreign land with a lack of activities. This has given her plenty of time to finally set her eyes on a goal that has been noming on her mind, heart, and fingers for 8 years. This goal is to record an album in two parts. The first album: all original (still to be written) material and the second: a cover album of various piano songs that have had a particularly special meaning to Nicole over the last several years.
To top this goal off, in one year's time, Nicole plans to be marketing her original album in Great Britain.
Julie
Julie Salzmann is a video editor and photographer who works at a large church in the Twin Cities. This work has been something that she has been passionate about her whole life, as the lens of a camera gives an amazing glimpse into who people are and she loves being able to serve God with the talents and gifts He has given her.
But that's not why she's here on Spirespire.
"While realizing that I should love the person that God created--and I do love that person-- I can't stand what I, PERSONALLY, have created: I have allowed myself to get to an unhealthy weight and have been at this weight for almost 9 years.
I'm out to prove that with HARD WORK, consistency and discipline, I can regain control of my life, my body and ultimately achieve my lifelong dream of hitting my goal weight. I'm about 75 pounds from this weight currently. This is going to be a long, sweaty, difficult process. But it's not impossible! I have experienced A LOT of emotional pain because of being at this weight. It's time to change that, and be the person on the outside that I am on the inside.
I love who God made. I don't love what I have made. But that's about to change."
But that's not why she's here on Spirespire.
"While realizing that I should love the person that God created--and I do love that person-- I can't stand what I, PERSONALLY, have created: I have allowed myself to get to an unhealthy weight and have been at this weight for almost 9 years.
I'm out to prove that with HARD WORK, consistency and discipline, I can regain control of my life, my body and ultimately achieve my lifelong dream of hitting my goal weight. I'm about 75 pounds from this weight currently. This is going to be a long, sweaty, difficult process. But it's not impossible! I have experienced A LOT of emotional pain because of being at this weight. It's time to change that, and be the person on the outside that I am on the inside.
I love who God made. I don't love what I have made. But that's about to change."
Christian
Christian Lyon is one of many Musicians in Naperville, IL High Schools that writes his own music. He currently works as an ice cream store assistant and guitar teacher who believes wholeheartedly that no television show will ever compare to Dragonball Z, Gilmore Girls, Scrubs or Pokémon (seasons 1 & 2).
As a Senior who works diligently to achieve things long before a High Schooler should musically, Christian often finds himself in uncomfortable or awkward situations which forces him to back his writing with confidence.
This brings him to Spirespire.
Although he is accustomed to recording all of his music onto Youtube in his cluttered bedroom, shoulder to shoulder with an organ and a bathroom door, his goal is to eventually collaborate. But not with just anyone. Christian is aspiring to the most improbable goal a young musician dreams about.
He wants to record with one of his favorite bands.
(Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens, Iron & Wine)
As a Senior who works diligently to achieve things long before a High Schooler should musically, Christian often finds himself in uncomfortable or awkward situations which forces him to back his writing with confidence.
This brings him to Spirespire.
Although he is accustomed to recording all of his music onto Youtube in his cluttered bedroom, shoulder to shoulder with an organ and a bathroom door, his goal is to eventually collaborate. But not with just anyone. Christian is aspiring to the most improbable goal a young musician dreams about.
He wants to record with one of his favorite bands.
(Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens, Iron & Wine)
Shay
Shay Cranmer is a stay-at-home mom and private vocal teacher. She enjoys all mediums of the creative arts and has a huge heart for encouraging people to run after their passions. Hence, she created SpireSpire as an experiment to get to the heart of what often stops people from achieving their goals; fear and a lack of belief in their gifts. Shay spent most of her life in and out of theaters; doing improv, musical theater, and vocal performance. This came to a halt when a certain short--albeit very cute-- little person appeared in her life. Adjusting to being a mom took time, and her creative spirit dove underground where it percolated on stories that she had always dreamed about, but never written down. Using naps to scribble, she wound up with a rough draft of a four-part series of novels. Shay doesn't usually do things small.
However, Shay has a very large habit of only doing things halfway and then abandoning them. This will be changing.
With the help and encouragement of her husband/sounding-board, Colin, the overall hilariousness from her adorable daughter, and the general sleepiness of her three cats; Shay is completing the first novel in her series--and landing it on the New York Times Bestsellers list. In a year.
Shay is in the suburbs of Chicago, is an amateur student of biblical history, and deeply hopes that SpireSpire is an inspiration to people for their own success.
However, Shay has a very large habit of only doing things halfway and then abandoning them. This will be changing.
With the help and encouragement of her husband/sounding-board, Colin, the overall hilariousness from her adorable daughter, and the general sleepiness of her three cats; Shay is completing the first novel in her series--and landing it on the New York Times Bestsellers list. In a year.
Shay is in the suburbs of Chicago, is an amateur student of biblical history, and deeply hopes that SpireSpire is an inspiration to people for their own success.
