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When Darkness Loves Us

Elizabeth Engstrom (Goodreads Author),

Theodore Sturgeon (Foreword)

4.02 · Rating details · 637 ratings · 122 reviews

This two-novella collection twists together the beauty and horror underlying the seeming simplicity of small town life.

Sally Ann is a bright and bubbling farm girl, still caught in the thrill of a brand-new husband and a shining future ahead. When a careless exploration leaves her trapped underground, she learns to live again in the absence of everything she once knew. ...more

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Hardcover, 249 pages

Published January 1985 by William Morrow & Company

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· 637 ratings · 122 reviews

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May 14, 2019 Char rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: dark-fiction, 80-s-horror, review-for-valancourt, valancourt-books-reviews

WHEN DARKNESS LOVES US gets ALL the stars and maybe even a few planets!

I'm going to keep this review short and I'll tell you why. A friend has been telling me for years how great this book is, but I didn't know anything about it, other than it contained two novella length stories. I think "going in blind" is the best way to attack this volume. I had no preconceptions as to what was going to happen, what the stories were about or anything at all, really.

I will say the following: both of these WHEN DARKNESS LOVES US gets ALL the stars and maybe even a few planets!

I'm going to keep this review short and I'll tell you why. A friend has been telling me for years how great this book is, but I didn't know anything about it, other than it contained two novella length stories. I think "going in blind" is the best way to attack this volume. I had no preconceptions as to what was going to happen, what the stories were about or anything at all, really.

I will say the following: both of these tales feature women as the protagonists. These women are tough, they're fighters, and they're brave. They make the most of what they have and try not to complain. Which makes it all the more difficult for the reader when the stories turn, as they both do.

A word about the writing-it was beautiful at times. Often, it was beautiful and horrific all at once, which must be a hard thing to pull off, because even reading as much as I do, I rarely come across that perfect, vivid style. I'm not usually a fan of flowery writing but I submit this as a perfect paragraph, descriptive but not overly so, resulting in a tight little description of the seasons on a rural farm:

"Winter was a mean ogre, dangerous and ugly, yet his reign was oddly cozy and comfortable as they rested during this respite from the sweltering summer. Spring was a baby bunny, soft and warm, but skittish, and able to dash into frantic motion in less than a heartbeat of time. Spring was clean. Then summer again, a paper queen of vivid reds, purples and greens, fading in the sunlight, turning all the colors a sickly yellow while the paper itself became crisp and brittle. Autumn was a deer, beautiful and swift. And winter had come again."

This book was like autumn, actually, (at least it is the way Ms. Engstrom described it), beautiful and swift. And horrific and heartbreaking. And all the other words that describe the type of read that never leaves you. I don't know what else to say other than:

My HIGHEST recommendation!

*Thank you to Valancourt Books for the e-ARC for review consideration. I considered it and said Hell, yeah!*

...more

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Mar 13, 2015 Grady Hendrix rated it it was amazing

Reading horror paperbacks from the 80s is like buying drugs off the street. You wind up with so many bags of oregano that you lose hope, and then, suddenly, youre clutching the real deal and the top of your head is lifting off and you cant remember your name, your address, or whether youre biologically human.

But finding the real deal brings its own flavor of depression because it raises questions like, Why isnt this author better known? and What happened to their careers? Which is exactly how I ...more

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Jul 14, 2019 Justin Tate rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is a collection of 2 novellas. The first, "When the Darkness Loves Us," is canon horror. Totally bonkers, off the wall creeptastic. I went into it without knowing anything and loved being blindsided. I'd suggest you do the same. Every word is a twist. You will say "WTF!!??!!"at least a dozen times. Could've been longer, but I think Engstrom was smart to end things before the premise got old.

The second novella, "Beauty Is...," starts incredibly slow and I struggled to keep up with the ...more

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Jul 26, 2019 Sadie Hartmann Mother Horror rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Thanks to Grady Hendrix and his coffee table book, PAPERBACKS FROM HELL (published by the amazing Quirk)- horror paperbacks are having a revival. Valancourt Books (who also should get all the praise and props for reprinting older horror paperbacks and giving them fresh, modern covers and a new lease on life) did a spin-off series called "Paperbacks From Hell" in which they reprinted in a cute, throwback mass-market size, five books and charged one low price for all five to be shipped, one a Thanks to Grady Hendrix and his coffee table book, PAPERBACKS FROM HELL (published by the amazing Quirk)- horror paperbacks are having a revival. Valancourt Books (who also should get all the praise and props for reprinting older horror paperbacks and giving them fresh, modern covers and a new lease on life) did a spin-off series called "Paperbacks From Hell" in which they reprinted in a cute, throwback mass-market size, five books and charged one low price for all five to be shipped, one a month, to your house. It was the best investment ever. Of course, I signed up and I hear there might be a round two?? Check that out if you have the means. WHEN DARKNESS LOVES US is two novellas in one: The title story and another one titled, BEAUTY IS...
Oh my god.
Nothing could have prepared me for these two stories.
First of all, they are wildly different from each other except that they both have female protagonists who suffer great tragedy.
The author, Elizabeth Engstrom must have the most vivid imagination I've ever encountered. I am not likely to run across such unique and detailed events anytime soon. There's something special here. I was completely sucked into the narrative of both stories in a magnetic way. I thought about the stories whenever I was apart from them and while I was immersed in them, my reader's brain was a flurry of activity!
Basically, in the first novella, my brain wouldn't shut up. It was repeating the same message: What. The. HELL?!
In the second novella, again my brain was a broken record. This time it was shouting, "No! No! No! This is bad!"
I don't want to give away any important reading discoveries--I went into these almost blind (I did read the back when I first got it but I didn't remember anything other than it sounded really fucked up).
The big catalyst for story one happens right away--so no plot details from me except that this is psychological horror at its finest. I have no idea why I have never heard of this apart from Char (who helps run horror aficionados) recommending this to me.
The second story is a build to an insane finish. INSANE.
This story has balls, man.
It takes courage to write a story about a mentally handicapped woman--it's already so abrasive in the first like 10 pages I was just like, dude. I don't know if I can hang with this. But I did! Because YOU MUST!! So, trigger warnings galore if derogatory/inflammatory words towards the handicapped enrage you (they should) and also trigger warnings of abuse.
But the story is compelling and Martha is amazing and these characters that encounter her are so... different. They are all so different. Each one of them in the way they either support Martha or tear her down.
Just really great character study, insane tension and an unraveling psychological horror that is completely satisfying in every way. Crazy, crazy stuff. ...more

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Feb 19, 2019 Valancourt Books added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019-releases, horror-supernatural, 1980s, paperbacksfromhell

flag 36 likes · Like · see review

Nov 13, 2019 mark monday rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror-60s-70s-80s

the darkness loves them both and they will love the darkness back. Sally Ann must make the underground her friend, away from the beauty of the sunlight and the man above; Martha retreats to a mental underworld, all the better to escape cruel reality and the cruel yellow-eyed dog of a man that broke her. darkness traps and keeps, then comforts.

they will have their sojourns into the light: Sally Ann will discover the casual, cruel reality of time moving forward; Martha will find beauty and a man ...more

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Oct 07, 2020 Janie C. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The two novellas in this volume are different, but are equally as affecting. Each deals with the horror of existence and of the difficulty of fitting in. The first story is physical in nature, and shows how a pregnant girl trapped underground survives. The effects of years away from light and other people are stunning and blood chilling.

The second story is a touching psychological drama that promises hope while human cruelty kills it. The characters are so well drawn that they become solid and ...more

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Jul 04, 2010 Tressa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: horror, dark-fiction

UPDATED WITH A REVIEW OF THE SECOND NOVELLA, BEAUTY IS...

I don't even have a proper GR shelf to put this story in, it's that unique. I found this book (consists of two novellas: When Darkness Loves Us and Beauty Is) on Amazon when I was looking for some Theodore Sturgeon books. He knew the author and wrote the forward to the book.

When Darkness Loves Us
It's the sixties and Sally Ann is enjoying resting in the sun while her new husband rides a tractor on the family farm. She goes exploring and UPDATED WITH A REVIEW OF THE SECOND NOVELLA, BEAUTY IS...

I don't even have a proper GR shelf to put this story in, it's that unique. I found this book (consists of two novellas: When Darkness Loves Us and Beauty Is) on Amazon when I was looking for some Theodore Sturgeon books. He knew the author and wrote the forward to the book.

When Darkness Loves Us
It's the sixties and Sally Ann is enjoying resting in the sun while her new husband rides a tractor on the family farm. She goes exploring and finds some steps that lead to an underground area where she and other children played, although it was deemed to dangerous and now has a wooden door with a padlock on it to keep future children from exploring. But the door is open and she goes exploring--too far in to warn her husband as he's padlocking the door that she's in there. She is two months pregnant when she is lost to the world above her.

Her husband and family assume she ran off, and she creates a life for her and her son, Clinton, in the darkness of the caves. There is an underground lake that provides water and they feast on moss, slugs, fish, and the occasional food that is washed in during a heavy rain.

Clinton loves the only home he has ever known, but Sallie Ann desires to feel the sun on her skin and breathe fresh air, and, most of all, to see her beloved Michael again. And so she sets out on a journey to find her way back to civilization, where much in her old world has changed.

The character development in When Darkness Loves Us is excellent and the menace mixed in with the sweetness of this story makes it hard not to read straight through in one sitting. Unlike a lot of the stories I read, I had no idea where this one was heading. I highly recommend this to anyone who's tired of the same old same-old plot and characterization in their fiction. I will definitely seek out this writer's other works and look forward to reading the second novella in this book.

Beauty Is...
Beauty Is is the second novella in the book, and it is more beautifully written than the first story, if that's possible.

This is the story of Fern, a good woman, mother, and wife who believes she has a gift from God to heal people of their sickness, and her retarded daughter Martha, born without a nose, a despicable act Fern's husband believes is punishment for Fern not letting sickness take its course in humans the way nature intends it to.

It's really hard to accurately describe just what this story is about and to explain the beauty of Engstrom's prose. The story is about a simple farm family's life and a couple's struggle to raise the "freak" of the town. Everyday life on the farm and in town is exquisitely revealed in each chapter, but there's a dark sense of foreboding from some of the shiftier characters in the story, like Leon, a young man who offers to help around the farm, and who starts to fall in love with the fiftysomething Martha; Leslie, a bitter, disliked town drunk who feels entitled to take what others work for; and Priscilla, a gold-digging hair stylist who befriends Martha for questionable reasons.

The only thing I didn't like about this story is the abrupt ending, which played more like an ending to a horror short story. As much as I like horror short stories, this story rises way above all that and I expected something more than this little shock of an ending that seemed out of place.

Why have I never heard of Elizabeth Engstrom before? ...more

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Feb 04, 2020 Latasha rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-books, books-i-own, horror

i listened to the audio book which is read by Karly Hutchins. She did a great job reading these stories. I enjoyed the writing very much. It pulls you in right a way and doesn't let go. The stories were good, very original and each one different. I can see why Valancourt and Grady Hendrix wanted to reprint this and bring more awareness to this lady. I'm sure glad i bought Black Ambrosia as well.

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Oct 18, 2020 Ken rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I wanted to read something a little different this October and this two novella collection easily falls into the most disturbing and horrific stories that I've ever read.

This is one of a selection of novels that featured in Grady Hendrix's Paperbacks from Hell and been reprinted under that banner.
The cover jumped out at me and whilst there's no creepy dolls, the lack of a nose is significant in the second story.

Out of the two it was the titular When Darkness Loves Us that contained the most ...more

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Jun 28, 2019 David rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, novellas, paperbacks-from-hell

When will GR let us give books infinity stars? Cause thats what Id give When Darkness Loves Us if I could.

This book, long out of print but brought back by the incomparable Valancourt Books, consists of two novellas and, boy oh boy, do they pack a punch. There isnt really any way to describe what goes on between these covers without sounding like a lunatic (and I mean itI tried to briefly run down the plot of the first novella to my family yesterday and they looked at me like I had lost my ...more

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May 25, 2018 Angus McKeogh rated it did not like it

This book was mentioned in Paperbacks from Hell. Moreover, there was an ironic introduction at the beginning of the book written by the author, it talked about how she knew from the age of 8 that shed be a published author one day, and then it continued on to note that this first novel of hers was worked over significantly in workshop, and all the other students on the read aloud had concluded that it was brilliant. Well, sure enough, its been published. Its actually two disconnected novellas. ...more

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Feb 03, 2020 Vickie rated it liked it

3.5☆ Still processing this one...

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Aug 02, 2019 Jamie Stewart rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

Feb 04, 2020 Kimberly rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: dark, emotional, psychological-horror, 80-s-style, novella-collection, wtf, haunting, lohf

5 stars for WHEN DARKNESS LOVES US, 3 stars for BEAUTY IS. 4 Stars.

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Jan 25, 2020 Cody | CodysBookshelf rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, vintage-horror

This is one of those books I knew Id love, I just struggled with finding time to read it I always seemed to grab something else off my shelf. I finally decided to give it a go, as it seems to receive lots of hype lately, and I was not let down.

When Darkness Loves Us is comprised of two novellas, and while both are strong I certainly preferred the title story: a strange, grimy, more traditional horror work with scary monsters (and super creeps!) and that classic horror trope: getting trapped.

...more

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Jan 26, 2020 Audra (ouija.doodle.reads) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, womxn-of-horror, novella

You become the monster, then you justify the monster, then you glorify the monster.

These two novellas, When Darkness Loves Us and Beauty Is . . . were my first encounter with Engstrom. Thanks to the Paperback from Hell series put out by Valancourt Books, everyone can read this incredible piece of fiction that was otherwise lost.

The first story springs from a what if? idea: what if a pregnant woman was trapped underground in a cave? The story immediately drew me in, and it is a dark and ...more

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May 19, 2014 Ctgt rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror

I was completely unfamiliar with this author but have seen her name, and this book in particular, bandied about in my horror club. I wouldn't really call this horror but dark fiction, maybe?

The title story is about a young mother-to-be who is accidentally trapped in an series of underground tunnels and ends up giving birth and living underground for many years. She adapts with help from the ghost/hallucination of her brother who was recently killed in Vietnam, explores the vast array of tunnels, ...more

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Jul 15, 2020 Heather *Undercover Goth Queen* rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ebooks-at-library, ebooks, horror, 2020

I'm always a bit disappointed in horror, yet I really want to love it. This book contains two stories. I enjoyed them while reading, but the endings fell flat for me and put a damper on the journey. As is often the case with me and horror. I did enjoy this as female-centric horror, however, and would like to read more of that.

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May 29, 2020 Niki rated it it was ok

Shelves: horror, hard-pass, fantasy

Note: I only read one of the two stories contained in this book, "When Darkness Loves Us" (that's the story's name, I'm not parroting the book's title) It was the story I wanted to read from the beginning and why I bought the book.

And let me just say, I wasn't impressed. The writing is too simplistic when it should have been evocative and atmospheric as hell, the pacing is weird, and the horror just wasn't there (yes, the idea of Sally Ann's predicament is horrifying, but the actual story has a ...more

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Jun 10, 2010 Monster rated it it was amazing

Shelves: anthologies-collections

When Darkness Loves Us consists of two novellas by Elizabeth Engstrom, the first being the same title as the book itself and the other called Beauty Is, which is actually the longer of the two stories.
The first novella, When Darkness Loves Us, tells the story of farm girl Sally Ann Hixson, who is recently married. While roaming the farm, she accidentally falls down into an underground area that had been sealed off. Sally Ann is trapped underground, her whereabouts unknown. As she adjusts to the When Darkness Loves Us consists of two novellas by Elizabeth Engstrom, the first being the same title as the book itself and the other called Beauty Is, which is actually the longer of the two stories.
The first novella, When Darkness Loves Us, tells the story of farm girl Sally Ann Hixson, who is recently married. While roaming the farm, she accidentally falls down into an underground area that had been sealed off. Sally Ann is trapped underground, her whereabouts unknown. As she adjusts to the darkness of the tunnels and creates a new way to live, Sally Ann realizes she is pregnant with child. How will she ever be able to survive down in the darkness, much less give birth to and raise a child there?
Beauty Is tells the story of Martha Mannes, and how she is coping with her life since the death of both of her parents. Martha isn't your typical girl, as she was born with a deformity- she has no nose- and everyone in town treats her as if she is retarded. The story has flashbacks to Martha's birth and childhood, and even her parents' life prior to her birth As the story continues, Martha finds the kindness in a few townsfolk and in doing so, gains more confidence in herself. The story starts to unravel a bit at this point, as Martha starts remembering more and more about her past and how it relates to her present.
When Darkness Loves Us and Beauty Is are both vivid in detail and beautifully written. I find myself at a loss in determining which story I actually enjoyed more as they were both so entertaining. Engstrom has a way of making readers really get to know the characters, and it almost puts you into the story as one of the extras. Wanting to know what was going to happen to the main heroine of each story made me feel compelled to turn page after page until I knew how things were to end. Strong in both characterization and dialogue, When Darkness Loves Us is a fabulous two-story collection that shouldn't be missed by any reader. It is a book that not only horror fans will enjoy, but readers from other genres as well, if they were to give it a chance. Definitely a great addition to any library collection out there!
Contains: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Sex, Violence
Review by Rhonda Wilson ...more

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Jun 09, 2019 Ken Saunders rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Like a fever dream out of WISCONSIN DEATH TRIP, these farm-life fantasies go deep beneath the bucolic and brutal daily life on northern Illinois plains and into the darkest nightmares of sexual awakening and pregnancy. Where exactly is the difference between existing and living? The book opens with a woman who does not want to be seen and disappears, and it closes with a woman who has disassociated from her own existence behind a deformity.

These are interesting aspects to consider, but ...more

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Nov 21, 2019 Mark Young rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Loved it! When Darkness Loves Us and Beauty Is... are both masterclasses in storytelling, characterisation and in particular - pacing. The former has a fast pace and is totally gripping.

Whereas the latter is slower but is in no way boring or disinteresting. BI is told intermittently through two time periods which are brought together in a superbly crafted final climactic chapter.

Pleasantly surprised by these two stories (yes theres two for the price of one in here) and I cant wait to read more ...more

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Sep 07, 2019 Victor rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, 2019

Wow this book really packs a punch! I didnt know what to expect going into this collection of two novellas. Both of these stories had characters that infuriated me especially the second one, Beauty Is. The first story, When Darkness Loves Us, has such a unique plot and its one of those situations where you really cant predict where its gonna go. Beauty Is is probably my favorite of the two. Its longer and more character driven and I liked the supernatural element in the past-present storyline. ...more

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Feb 02, 2020 Lisa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: buddy-reads

I loved this book, particularly the second story. (view spoiler) ...more

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May 11, 2019 Richard Schaefer rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This book is incrediblepainful, mysterious, frightening, and heartbreaking. Given the quality of the writing and the depth of character, I am shocked this book was out of print for so long. Engstrom has a very unique perspective on the world and there is nothing predictable about either novella contained within.
The first, shorter novella, When Darkness Loves Us, is about a young pregnant woman stuck in a maze of caves. It captures the claustrophobia, alienation, sensory deprivation, and pain in ...more

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Apr 18, 2019 Thomas rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, 2019, valancourt, paperbacks-from-hell

I wasn't aware this was a collection of two novellas when I started reading it. In fact, it's really a novella and a novel, since the title story only covers 80 pages, while the next one makes up nearly twice that length. Still, it's one of the Paperbacks from Hell, and even though The Nest was a bit of a let-down, I still held out hope for the rest of the books in the line.

When Darkness Loves Us (the novella) is about a pregnant woman who gets trapped underground and lives there in the darkness ...more

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Jun 25, 2019 Eduardo rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Excellent!

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Jul 27, 2020 Coral rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, novellas, read-in-2020, tbr-2020

Unlike anything I've ever read before.

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Oct 23, 2020 Curtis rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: People who appreciate slow-burn, dread-filled horror

Recommended to Curtis by: A YouTube video by InPraiseofShadows called "Horror Books Have Lost Their Identity"

This book contains 2 novellas:

Beauty Is: 7/10
When Darkness Loves Us: 9/10

If I have time I will give both stories a proper review. But this book is ABSUOLTELY worth seeking out.

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Play Book Tag: When Darkness Loves Us by Elizabeth Engstrom / 4 stars	1	9	Apr 08, 2020 12:45PM
Horror Aficionados : Buddy Read - When Darkness Loves Us - Paperbacks From Hell Book 2	38	34	Feb 18, 2020 01:32PM
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Short horror story about a young bride who gets trapped under old well. [s]	4	217	Aug 29, 2017 06:55AM

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About Elizabeth Engstrom

Elizabeth Engstrom

326 followers

Elizabeth (Liz) Engstrom grew up in Park Ridge, Illinois (a Chicago suburb where she lived with her father) and Kaysville, Utah (north of Salt Lake City, where she lived with her mother). After graduating from high school in Illinois, she ventured west in a serious search for acceptable weather, eventually settling in Honolulu. She attended college and worked as an advertising copywriter.

After ...more