I was a reader before I was a writer. Check out this picture of me, book on lap, age three or four. I look up at the photographer and I’m not exactly happy. I was probably wondering why he/she felt the need to interrupt me!
I can’t remember when I began to write. Sometime in high school, romantic teenager that I was, I decided I wanted to try my hand penning Shakespearean-style sonnets. I still have those awful, ridiculously passionate things.
Only as an adult did I take a stab at writing novel-length. Except I had no idea what I was doing. How to make a story flow in the right direction, the hero’s goals, what made her do what she did, and what kept him from doing it…FYI, that’s what’s called goal, motivation, conflict. Too bad I didn’t know what any of that was.
And before you ask why didn’t I take a class…there was no way. I might have found out what I already knew, that I had no talent.
Then I immersed myself in the business of raising children. Still, I couldn’t rid myself of the itch to write. I tried.
It took me years to realize the itch was never going away. When I finally did, an opportunity to learn came up, and I decided enough with all that indecision and self-doubt. I grabbed it and voila! I finally was able to call myself what I’ve always been…a story teller, a writer, an author!
The happy result? The publication of my first book FOR THE LOVE OF THE DAME was followed by my second book A DUKE FOR DESSERT, the first of two books featuring modern day billionaire English dukes and the American women who drive them crazy. The second in the Billionaire Dukes Novels, WHEN THE DUKE FINDS HIS HEART came next. Currently I’m working on a new series. I call this series my Tootsie books. The first one comes out in spring, 2022.
These days I write all the time and everywhere. At Starbucks and Panera. At my desk at home. Believe it or not, even in doctor’s offices, waiting for an appointment. I write on the bus and on the train. I dragged my laptop to a wedding we went to in Helsinki and worked in the hotel!
As long as I can hit the keys on my laptop, I’ll continue to write. The good thing? I don’t fill my brain with all that negativity I let myself wallow in for too long. Is writing easy these days? Not always. But I love it. The fact is, I’ve always loved it, even if I couldn’t admit it, then.
As for that other part of my life, my husband, Andy and I have three sons, and seven grandchildren, five boys and two girls. Of course, they’re all fabulous!
One of these days, Andy and I are going to cruise around the world. I’m quite sure I’ll still take my laptop with me.
If knowing more about my writing is something you want to do, please sign up for my News Alert. You’ll be the first to know when my next book hits the virtual stands. On occasion, I’ll treat you to free stuff and contests. If I think it’s good, I’ll recommend a book I’m reading that I think you’ll enjoy, or send you a recipe. (Did I mention I love to bake?)
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