Richelle grew up a latch-key kid in a small town in Michigan. The freedom of being parent-free gave her a myriad of ways to explore her environment. Her childhood home crouched on a small pond orig...view moreRichelle grew up a latch-key kid in a small town in Michigan. The freedom of being parent-free gave her a myriad of ways to explore her environment. Her childhood home crouched on a small pond originally carved out of the Kalamazoo River to drive a grist mill built in the 1860s. Four distinct seasons in each of the 20 years spent in and on the pond and among its surrounding forests and marshes provided countless hours of playtime and has given her an appreciation for nature she could have never gotten from any classroom. That love of nature has snuck its way into nearly all of her writing.view less