Born Erline Marsh in 1933, she is the seventh of nine children. At age three, her family moved from Rogers City, Michigan to Ocqueoc Township eight miles away. She and her siblings had plenty of chores but she always found time to tell stories. "I’d often hide upstairs in a large closet, hoping not to be discovered as I put together stories about my siblings. I told my stories in rhyme and our family had great fun when I'd read them at suppertime."

After graduating, she moved to Pontiac, MI, where she met and married Stewart Heard in 1956. Their two children are Danny and Tambra. When her youngest turned 13, she went to work as a Teacher's Aide for the Nevada Clark County School District, and after ten years, she quit to be with her husband on his construction jobs.

It was at that time that she began to write children's stories involving animals. "My children's and grandchildren's love and compassion for stray and abused animals inspired me. I was filled with a new higher awareness for these dear creatures. I hope my stories inspire this awareness for the needs of our wonderful furry friends who want only to love and be loved."

She is a long-standing Tumbleweed Tales Society poet, and serves as the group's Public Relations Coordinator. She is a published author whose monthly feature astrological birthday greeting poems have appeared in Spotlight on Pahrump. She is known for her lyrical style and adds, "Longfellow is my favorite poet; politics is my favorite subject."