Hi Friend!
My life is a tapestry of good times and bad, woven together with prayer, good food, good stories, and lots of laughter!
I was born into a very loud and very loving Italian family. I am the favorite child of my parents, even though my OLDER sister argues otherwise. Imagine having every date interviewed by a dad and two uncles. It wasn’t pretty. My cousins were raised more like siblings, so my kids call them aunts and uncles.
My books involve cooking and food just as my own life does. Most of my recipes came straight from San Giovanni in Fiore, Italy circa the 1800s and brought over on ships through Ellis Island. My family regularly gets together to cook and bake those same recipes today. My grandfather made wine in the cellar of the family home. He was famous in our community, or maybe infamous, for his wine. He is my inspiration for the setting behind the Vineyard Seeds Series.
I am married to my college sweetheart. We were totally “that” couple who broke up all the time. Twenty-five years later, he is still the only person who gets me and sets my heart aflutter. I’m the mom to four kids, one scrappy dog, and another dog who thinks she’s a cat. Needless to say, life is crazy at Casa Denson, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
God walks with me in the deserts, the storms, and the bright sunshine. He is good and merciful and kind, always, even when it doesn’t feel like it. I have seen Him make beauty from ashes. I want to write stories that show God’s loving hands working in the lives of those who love Him. He is in the miracles and the details of our life stories. My passion is to share how very much He loves us. He is all that matters.
Fifteen Random Facts
I want to be buried in a beaded ball gown with a feather boa and blinged out microphone.
I played center on my high school basketball team (I’m only 5’4’ but I’m very scrappy). #20
There were 27 people in my high school graduating class. Go IRISH!
I broke my ankle playing dizzy izzy on the Mountainlair plaza. I have fallen down stairs four times and have broken bones every time.
My husband wants me to live in a protective bubble based on #4.
I am not allowed to do the “Running Man” based on #4. (I rock the “Running Man”)!
My sister is 9 years older than me. She and my cousin used to play “maid” with me….guess who was the maid???
My cousin Rachael and I are still terrified of the library ghost from Ghostbusters. I. Can’t. Even.
I sat outside of WVU’s Stuart Hall looking for the ghost at midnight with my sorority little sister Cynthia and her pledge class….it never came.
My favorite aunt calls me Amy Sunshine and my two favorite uncles call me Mimi Fanchini. (I have lots of favorites ;).)
I have an obsession with tiaras. They are so sparkly .
My two favorite movies are You’ve Got Mail and Cutting Edge. I know EVERY word.
I met my oldest friend on the first day of Kindergarten. She sat beside me and asked If I wanted to be her friend. Umm, yes!
I’m obsessed with classic movies. Cary Grant, Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Irene Dunne, Katharine Hepburn. The Thin Man Series. Arsenic and Old Lace, makes me pee my pants laughing every time. I’m a total TCM geek!
If I wrote a parenting book or a memoir, they would both be titled “Plagued by Poop!”