Where it all began.. .

Now that I have decided to devote so much of my time to developing a career as an author, I had to take some time to think about why.

Why do I want to pursue a career that will, most likely: result in a great deal of rejection, bring me very little money, take more time than a standard 40 hour work week, and frustrate me to no end?

The answer is not simple, but it makes a lot of sense to me.

When I was a little girl I always loved to write.  I wrote letters to my friends and wrote long messages on birthday cards for my family members. I also loved to read.. . .in fact, today I read to my children some of the original copies of my childhood favorites.  I can't believe that both my mother and I saved them all of these years.  My children frequently remind me of my age and comment on how those books belong in an antique book store.

I also loved to read until I got to high school.  Before high school I was able to read for the joy of reading, with the occasional book report.  I selected the books that I wanted to, and if I wanted to read a favorite over and over I could.  In high school, however, that changed.  I had to read the books that my teachers required of me and then analyze them.  I disliked looking for symbolism--it bothered me that we had to try to figure out the author's thought process.  I believed that sometimes authors simply wrote a story for the sake of the story--nothing more.  This picking apart of a book actually backfired on my teachers' intentions. . . beyond my homework, I didn't read anything for my own pleasure beyond a magazine article for almost 20 years.  This is incredibly sad and embarrassing to me.  I was a poor model to my own students as well as to my children.

While reading was a downer for me in high school, writing picked up for me.  I will never forget the Advanced Expository Writing class that I took with Mrs. Edington.  She was a fantastic teacher and settled for nothing less than perfection with a smile.  I was driven to prove to her that I could attain the goal which she had set.  In fact, that year I wrote a story that was entered into a state writing contest.  As the grand prize winner I let a group of students to the state capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin and presented all of the winning stories to Governor Tommy Thompson.  I can even remember what I was wearing that day!

From that day on I joined the school newspaper, and continued to take a variety of different writing classes in college--still not reading.

About 7 years ago my husband and I experienced a tragic event and I needed to get some things off of my chest.  In an attempt to write a journal entry, my first picture book came out.  I loved it!  Despite the topic, I loved the rush that I got from putting it down on paper.  I love the rush that I got from editing, and I loved the rush that I got when I went to the mailbox to see if a publisher liked it.  It never made it to the shelves, but it did jump start me.

I have been writing ever since.  I always have a story running through my head.  I keep pads of paper next to my bed, in my purse, in my car, and any where else that I can stash one.  Today, I love analyzing a story!  In fact, editing is my favorite part of writing.

Going back to the beginning. . .why do I want to pursue a career as an author?

It excites me.  It has always excited me.  It just took a while to discover why, but now that I know. . . I am driven to attain the goals that I set for myself.