My storytelling began when I was a child, putting myself to sleep with made up stories of heroic men and fearless women. Writing stories and diaries was a natural second step, as well as pursuing theatre and dance. For over 20 years I lived a gypsy life as a community performance artist in Chicago, New York City, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, CA and Greenville, SC. I fell in love with the art of oral storytelling in Denver, Colorado and earned a degree in storytelling. For several years I performed at Denver’s large Black Arts Festival, as well as in libraries, schools, and other events. In addition, my husband, Brian Payne, creator of Zinc Comics, and I produced several storytelling TV shows on Denver’s public access station. In Denver I produced three Tellabration programs. When we moved to Des Moines, Iowa we opened Darshan Comic Studio and Storytelling Theater. In addition to performances there, I participated in the Iowa Touring Arts Team, sharing storytelling in small communities throughout Iowa. And continued to do performances and residencies in schools from elementary to colleges. After researching Iowa’s participation in the Underground Railroad, I became a Humanities Iowa Speaker and told those stories to historic societies throughout the state. However, I was supporting my storytelling career with a part-time non-profit job. When that position was ended, I had a mid-life crisis and became a registered nurse. While working as a nurse, I began blogging, and sharing recorded stories online and video stories. Since moving to Homer, Alaska, my storytelling career has blossomed once again, with the end of full-time nursing. Not only have I performed in theatres and art galleries, I’ve produced two Tellabrations and began Homer’s first storytelling organization.