When I was eleven, my grandmother, who was a songwriter, poet, and missionary, 

said words to the effect: "You have a very creative imagination. You should explore 

that." 

  Through the next few years, I noticed high grades in the various courses of 

English, Literature and other subjects requiring term papers and/or theme oriented 

works. 

  My dad picked up an old Underwood typewriter, one that was in pitiful condition I 

might add--even the carriage did not advance on it--handed it to me, and warned, 

"You're on your own." 

  I played with it, cleaned and bent the keys straight, and did just about 

everything else a person my age could possibly think to do to that dinosaur of a 

typewriter.

  My efforts were not in vain. It worked! 

  From that day on, all they could hear around the house was the tak-a-tak-a-tak of 

my keys as I taught myself how to type. Then when I entered high school, and was 

able to choose my own courses, naturally I added (which was not a required course at 

that time by the way) typing as one of my extras. 



  But somehow it wasn't enough; I thirsted for more knowledge of how to put my 

thoughts down in a manner that could be understood by others, as well as 

myself.



  I took several electives, which included "The Basics of Writing", "Creative 

Writing", "Mystery and Suspense", "Humor in Literature", and "Cinema". 

  From there, little by little I started to write short stories, mostly human 

interest pieces for the local newspapers, till finally "Angels On Earth" magazine, 

published one of my stories, "On the Way to Damascus". "GuidePosts" also chose it 

for their "Best Loved Stories 1998". 



  The time-travel concept has always fascinated me, so it's no big surprise

to anyone who truly knows me that my stories would center around that theme. And, of 

course, I am an incurable romantic--hence, the romance in the books.



  I have always believed that story telling is not just a gift, it can actually be a 

tool for helping others. If you can sweep someone away from his or her problems for 

a few minutes, you have done well. We have a lot of pressures in this big world we 

live in, and sometimes just the right word can bring a smile or cause someone to 

look up and say, "Thanks."




  A word of caution here that matches my own writing history: If you have a do or 

die need to express yourself in the printed word, never accept the advice, "Don't 

give up your day job." I did--for over 10 years. 



A small recap here:

  One day, a dear friend by the name of Martha Norelli, who has since passed on, 

informed me, "You have such a gifted way with words. Why are you not writing for the 

column, Slice of Local Life?" 



  It was a small venture in our local paper, and the pay was low but I finally was 

able to express my words publicly. Of course, I had never really given up on my 

writing, I just did it in a more private way. I kept a journal--not a diary--but one 

of ideas and thoughts, little stories that came out of my imagination. And all of 

this was in long hand, too, incidentally, but I felt the desire, nay, rather the 

need to express myself with words. 



  Now the opportunity for me to give in to that suppressed part of my nature, the 

true, fervent desire to write, had finally opened up to me. Granted, my first works 

were short pieces at best, like the column indicated, a bit of Americana... human 

interest stories... but it was a start. 



  We all have to keep up with the times, naturally, so the next step was to retire 

my Brother typewriter--and to buy a laptop. That was a happy day for me indeed. No 

more whiteout, no more erasures, now I would have just plain, old, silly typo's. But 

what is that when one has spell-check! 



  The next step was to write a story entitled, "On The Way to Damascus" published by 

"Angels On Earth" magazine. It was followed up by a stint on PAX-TV, where I made an 

appearance and told my story, with a re-enactment. I had my eight minutes of fame. 

It was encouragement enough, however, for me to realize that I had a place in my 

chosen field. 



  My favorite author throughout my teenage years had always been Grace Livingston 

Hill. I bought everything of hers I could get my hands on--and that I could afford. 

I even confiscated a few of Mom's books and popped them into my own collection. 

(Sorry, Mom) GLH was my initial inspiration; because of her, I knew I wanted to be 

an author, too. 



  I spent enough time away from the public side of writing, however, and I felt the 

need to refresh my education. I went back to the beginning starting with basics of 

writing. I found my old course books and studied them again. Next I took an online 

course in writing and dug deep into the very roots of it all with basic sentence 

structure. Sometimes when you shelf what you enjoy doing, you can actually block out 

what used to come natural to you. Starting over isn't impossible but it isn't easy 

either. If you have a healthy dose of determination to keep you going, though, you 

can overcome any obstacle. 



   I hope you are entertained by my work and also that you enjoy being swept away 

into the world of my imagination. 

  Take care now, and always keep looking up!