About
A former Californian, I have been living for the past five years in beautiful North Idaho with my husband and teenage son. I love to – not necessarily in this order! - write; kayak; walk my dog; cuddle with my cat; read voraciously; cook; eat; travel; talk with my wonderful son; spend time with my parents, my sister and her family; watch movies; get together with my writing group; and go to B & B’s with my husband. Since graduating from the University of California, Davis with a B.A. in History, I have worked as a secretary, a magazine editor, a winery tour guide, an English as a Second Language instructor, and currently as an elementary school reading teacher and freelance writer.
My Christian historical romance, “The Silver and the Cross” (Comfort Publishing) is available on-line through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders Books, and will be in bookstores on April 1, 2010. My non-fiction articles have appeared in many magazines, including: “Country Woman”, “Back Home”, “Northwest Travel”, “Northwest Woman”, “Backroads Motorcycling”, “Sandpoint Magazine”, “A Small Farmer’s Journal”, and others.
I have recently finished writing another historical Christian romance called “Violet’s Victory”. Additionally, I’m writing a YA fantasy, an adult fantasy, and another historical romance.
Learning to Breathe Fire: The Rise of CrossFit and the Primal Future of Fitness
Description
<p><b>The absorbing, definitive account of CrossFit's origins, its explosive grassroots growth, and its emergence as a global phenomenon.</b><br /> <br />One of the most illuminating books ever on a sports subculture, <i>Learning to Breathe Fire </i>combines vivid sports writing with a thoughtful meditation on what it means to be human. In the book, veteran journalist J.C. Herz explains the science of maximum effort, why the modern gym fails an obese society, and the psychic rewards of ending up on the floor feeling as though you're about to die. <br /> <br />The story traces CrossFit’s rise, from a single underground gym in Santa Cruz to its adoption as the workout of choice for elite special forces, firefighters and cops, to its popularity as the go-to fitness routine for regular Joes and Janes. Especially riveting is Herz’s description of The CrossFit Games, which begin as an informal throw-down on a California ranch and evolve into a televised global proving ground for the fittest men and women on Earth, as well as hundreds of thousands of lesser mortals. <br /> <br />In her portrayal of the sport's star athletes, its passionate coaches and its “chief armorer,” Rogue Fitness, Herz powerfully evokes the uniqueness of a fitness culture that cultivates primal fierceness in average people. And in the shared ordeal of an all-consuming workout, she unearths the ritual intensity that's been with us since humans invented sports, showing us how, on a deep level, we're all tribal hunters and first responders, waiting for the signal to go all-out. </p>
Story Behind The Book
I fell in love with the charming historical silver-mining town of Wallace, north Idaho, and knew I wanted to write a series of books set in Wallace, in different time periods. This was my first romance, published in April, 2010. "Violet's Victory", not yet published, is my second, and the third book, to be set in 1910, is a work in progress.
