My love for books began long ago in a land far away in northern New Jersey where I grew up. We had no television, so our weekly activity was a trip to the library where my sisters and I raided the library shelves. One of the benefits of our reading was that my mother enjoyed the peace and quiet that ensued our trips. We could come home with stacks of books, go to our bedroom, and begin reading. My mother could take a nap or do some work around the house and never worry about what we were doing. We were snuggled up with books for hours.
I remember one of my favorite forms of fiction was books about nurses. I read every book the library had on nurses, partly because I thought I would grow up to be a nurse. As time went along, I graduated from high school and then went to college.
I met a wonderful man whom I married a few years later. I continued my education at the local university, studying English literature. After ten years and three kids, I finally graduated with my English degree. I substituted for teachers at a local Christian school while I raised my children, adding a fourth one along the way, and continuing my education; eventually, I accepted a contract to teach English to junior high students, which I did for about twelve years. Following those years, I moved to teaching high school, which I enjoyed very much.
Following the death of my husband two years ago and some other changing events in my life, I decided to give up teaching to pursue my graduate degree in literature. Having a fascination with literature, I began this new avenue of writing. Life is full of changes, and we must be willing to adapt, so that is what I am doing.
One of my earliest experiences with writing was in the fourth grade when I was required to write a poem. The poem was a disaster, but the experience was probably one of those that opened my imagination to putting ideas on paper. I dabbled along, writing all kinds of things, but I spent most of my time writing essays, critiques, research papers, and other nonfiction types of writing. I found that I loved the adventure into the world of words.
My first book is based on a real life experience. My husband was so excited to become a grandfather and looked forward to years ahead playing with his grandchildren and influencing them in a positive way. This first book, Pappy Loves Braydon, describes the growing relationship between a grandfather and his grandson. The book attempts to gently touch the subject of a grandparent’s declining health and the love he and his grandson share.
I look forward to opportunities to continue writing stories which may have an important appeal.