At 5, I tagged along with my mother, who played piano for the Garden State Ballet, and took every class she played for, including adult classes. I guess I was inspired by the first movie I'd ever seen, "Cabaret" with Liza Minelli.

Not too long after that, I picked up the guitar. But my first instrument was piano. I played by ear for many years before even attempting to read music.

I continued dance classes between the ages of 10 and 13 at Lakewood School of Dance, where I danced jazz, tap and on pointe in recitals and competitions.

At 12, I became a serious fan of rock-'n'-roll music and spent lots of time with my guitar. At 13, I started a band called Illusion. We played battles and at school dances. During the same time, I was a member of Simy Theatre and Dance Company in Freehold, NJ.

At 15, I enrolled in Barbizon School of Modeling, Red Bank, NJ and graduated at 16.

As a senior at Howell High School, where I attended the Performing Arts Center as a writing/publishing student, I played "Sandy" in the school's production of "Grease."

The year I graduated, I took a job as a staff writer at the Asbury Park Press, Neptune, where I stayed until 2000. During that time, I wrote thousands of features, a theater column, a music column and finally became a beat reporter covering northern Monmouth County.

While working, I was a part-time student at Brookdale Community College, Lincroft, NJ, where I earned an associate of arts, journalism in 1989. In 1990, I attended Rutgers University for two semesters as an English, then psychology major.

In 1990 I took dance classes at Diane Fay School of Dance, Manasquan, where I also taught beginner's jazz to a class of 10-year-olds.

In 1990, I also wrote a full-length play, "The Beat of a Triangle," and co-wrote the music with my brother, Johnny Navarra. The following year, it was produced by Freehold Summer Theatre Project, Freehold, NJ, and ran for two weekends.

In 1992, I joined forces with a musician named Dave Miller, and formed a pop music duo, Sunlight City. We often played restaurants/bars like The Old Mill Inn, Spring Lake, and Christie's Restaurant, Wanamassa. I sang, played guitar and percussion (congas, tamborine).   

In 1993, I formed a voice-and-drum duo called Lingo, with Johnny. We played coffee houses like The Laughing Bean in Red Bank, and bars like T-Birds in Asbury Park, as well as the Clearwater Festival, to name a few.

In 1994, I played a supporting role in "A Girl's Guide to Chaos" at Meadow Theatre, Red Bank.

Later that year, I formed an alternative rock original trio called Morro Castle with my bass player husband, Guy Fleming and brother Johnny on drums. We played First Night Red Bank four consecutive years. 

In 1995, still on staff at the Asbury Park Press, I enrolled part-time in Garden State Holistic Healthcare Center's massage therapy program, and became nationally certified in 1996.

Guy and I recorded a New Age pop CD titled "One Single Breath," beginning in 1997 and finished in 1999.

During that time, I left the press, began working on a novel. Many months later, I took a job as copy writer/accounts manager at Premier Marketing and Advertising, Red Bank.

For fun, Guy and I joined some other friends to form a cover band called Honey, which came to a screeching halt when we had Vinnie in 2001. In 2002, we had Julia.

In 2004, I slipped into an alter ego named La-Ti-Da and performed as a duo with Sherri Ehrlich (a.k.a. Miss Sherri) of Honey Child Music, Red Bank, NJ. (www.honeychildmusic.com)

Not quite up to my ears yet, I enrolled in a bachelor's/master's combination correspondence program with Lacrosse University (www.lacrosseuniversity.com) and 18 months later, earned my degrees in creative writing. My master's thesis was my finished novel, "Divine Stupidity." 

In 2005, I played the supporting role of Ruthie, the guitar-playing dog, in a pilot, "Miss Sherri's Magical Musical Adventure" produced by Susan Schwartz. The same year, I also wrote and performed the voice-over for a Honey Child Music promotional DVD.

I performed back-up vocals on a dance/electronica CD titled "The Art of Dreaming" by St. Christopher (Chris Corley of Long Branch, NJ). Later, I co-starred in his music video, "Realize," a song I co-wrote, produced by Beth Lasch and set in Asbury Park. You can find this video online and watch it! (http://video.download.com/3800-11168_53-7500.html)

Guy and I began working on our forthcoming CD, then joined No Surrender, a Bruce Springsteen tribute band. When that folded, Guy joined Asbury Fever and Who's Your Daddy?

Since becoming a freelance writer in 2002, I have written for Red Hot Red Bank, Monmouth University Magazine, AndBaby Magazine (NY), d. Magazine (Red Bank), The Family Groove (www.thefamilygroove.com), ParentGuide Magazine (NJ), Asbury Park Press (NJ), and The Islander.

I've also had a short story, "My Sister's Wife" published by Prose Toad (www.prosetoad.com). I am currently co-authoring "The Encyclopedia of Rare Diseases" with my mother, Tova Navarra, RN, for Facts On File, NY.

My latest business venture entails writing and consulting for Above and Beyond Media, (www.aboveandbeyondmedia.com).