I wish I could tell you that my life is as exciting as Ana Orozco’s. Alas, or perhaps fortunately, it isn’t. As a child, I was too shy to be adventurous. My shyness might have been deepened by the fact that for the first few years of my life, my family moved fairly frequently. Then, when I was 11, we moved to the Northern California foothills, and I found my roots. I fell in love with the natural beauty of the land, as well as the rich history and quirky lore of its people. I learned about the first inhabitants, especially the Maidu and the Miwok, whose grinding rocks still dot the landscape. I saw the boarding house where little Lotta Crabtree lived before spider-dancing Lola Montez made her famous. I toured quarries and mines, and panned for gold (unsuccessfully) in rushing streams. I read plaques that are all that remain of places where miners gunned down native Americans or where white settlers murdered other white settlers because of their religion or whatever. It was the work of a lifetime to lose my shyness, but I found my home instantly. I have lived away from it from time to time, but it always called me back. I embrace it all, the tragedies and injustices as well as the wonders, because it all teaches enduring lessons. I’m still learning today as I write this from my home in the hills. 
Apart from history and writing, other interests include gardening, keeping wildlife from eating my garden, hiking, and staying warm and cozy indoors when it snows.