Piper Punches grew up in a rural Missouri town in the far west suburbs of St. Louis. As early as kindergarten, she began her adventure as a storyteller. It wasn’t long before others caught on that her talented storytelling was actually a disguise for her tendency to be a pathological liar. Luckily, by the time high school rolled around she got her act together and began to channel her bad girl tendencies into something constructive.

By the age of 16 she had written her novel, Silent Witness; a John Grisham- like tale about the treachery and brutality of the Colombian cartel. Before ever hitting the bookshelves, Silent Witness was adapted into a screenplay that was picked up by a major Hollywood studio, although not everything was it seemed. It was at this time that Piper learned the harsh lessons of Hollywood and the literary world. NEVER pay an agent one measly dollar until you have a contract in your hands and listen to your parents when they advise you against blindly sending $500 to a shady so-called agent to have your dreams come true overnight.  Sometimes parents actually know what they are talking about.

For the next several years (okay, about 20 years) Piper held onto her dream of becoming a published novelist, but decided to take up procrastination instead. It didn’t pay well, but it sure felt great to get nothing accomplished and pursue other random dreams. Finally, in 2012, after an eight year period as a social worker and a seven year stint as a business owner, Piper decided it was time to get back into the habit of storytelling . . . err, writing. She began freelancing and ghostwriting for several popular websites, while continuing to postpone writing her original work.

Piper’s mother had told her during her teenage years that writers write what they know. Of course, she didn’t take her mother’s advice back then and continued to write about drug cartels (because didn’t you know that every 16 year old living in rural Missouri knows about drug cartels? Meth – maybe. Colombia drug runners – no). However, in true Piper fashion, after 20 years she finally took that parental advice.

In late fall of 2013, Piper debuted her first novel as a bona fide adult. The Waiting Room is a novel that started as the title of a short story collection, but quickly proved it could be so much more. It evolved into a story about the complexities of family, the invisible bonds that connect people, and the pain that can reverberate through the choices we make.

In January 2014, Piper’s second published work, a novella entitled, Missing Girl, released. This short story proved to be a pivotal moment in her young career, where she found herself pointed in the direction of becoming the human interest writer she always longed to be. A story about sacrifice and bravery in the world of sexual slavery and trafficking, Missing Girl, albeit fictional, reaches deep into your soul and wakes you up to the injustices that are right under your nose.

Piper Punches lives 45 minutes from downtown St. Louis with her husband and two daughters. She continues to procrastinate and write on a daily basis and is excited to share her stories with new readers each and every day! Her newest novel, 60 Days, an extension of the story and themes of Missing Girl, will release in spring of 2015.

piper cat

Here’s a photo of my cat, Lacee. She was a stray that showed up on our deck one night nearly three years ago. I told my daughter she could feed her if she came back. She came back and never left. This is the “love” she endures from my youngest daughter for food and a warm bed.

 

 

 

 

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Book buy  links:

The Waiting Room: Amazon

Missing Girl:
Get your FREE copy here