Born and raised in Minnesota with its abundance of brilliant green grass and dazzling fall colors, Bonnie was not, at first, excited about her spouse’s desire to relocate to the desert for retirement. That feeling changed, however, after their first visit to verdant Green Valley, Arizona. Bonnie fell in love with the area, and has been content to call it home for the past twenty years.

Writing verse has always been an enjoyable pastime and mode of personal expression for Bonnie. After ten years of retirement, and with poems accepted in several anthologies, her husband said, “Why don’t you put your body of poetry into a book of your own?” She was hesitant; but one particular Sunday morning sermon entitled What’s Your Story? got her thinking. It was during that oration (when more attention should have been paid to the pastor’s message) she decided to tell her retirement saga in humorous verse and anecdotes.

Thus, her first book, From the Window of God’s Waiting Room, a compilation of laughable prose and poetry detailing the anything-but-amusing journey of aging, was born. The pandemic and its accompanying abundance of mandatory free time brought about the second, From the Window of a Mid-Century Childhood, a collection of light-hearted and relatable short stories about growing up in the 50’s and 60’s, and the third mostly-true memoir, From the Window of Motherhood’s Missteps, tales of parenting foibles, filled in the middle time gap.

Bonnie is a long-time member of the Green Valley Writers Critique Forum and served for many years as President of the Santa Cruz Valley Chapter of the Society of Southwestern Authors. She and her husband have five lovely grown daughters, six amazing grandchildren and two adorable great grandchildren. Her favorite activities include reading, writing, time with family and friends, travel, volunteer work, hiking and house work — yes, she likes to clean!

Selected anthology and journal credits

Selected anthology and journal credits include:

• Oasis Journal - 2013 "Hunger" Poetry
• Oasis Journal - 2014 “Ritual” Poetry
• Oasis Journal - 2015 “It’s Time” Poetry/ “A Visit to Sunny Arizona” Short Story
• Oasis Journal - 2016 “My Hero” Poetry/ “She’s Smiling” Poetry/“All That Matters” Poetry
• Oasis Journal - 2017 “One More” Poetry
• Oasis Journal - 2018 “It’s All About Her Smile” Poetry/“Do Good Manners Have an Expiration Date?” Short Story
• Arizona: 100 Years, 100 Poems, 100 Poets by Stuart Watkins “This Season” Poetry
• Bards Against Hunger 5th Anniversary Edition by Bards Initiative “Hunger” Poetry
• Trees In A Garden Of Ashes, Poetry of Resilience by James P. Wagner “Covid 19” Poetry
• We Are Poetry, An Anthology of Love Poems by Stacy Savage “All That Matters” Poetry
• Mother Nature’s Trail by Stacy Savage “Trees of Itasca” Poetry