I’ve been asked, recently, to capsulize my writing journey into a short blurb. As is often the case, I begin with the long version, then whittle it down to something more succinct. So…here’s the long story!
When it comes to published work, I’m a late bloomer. Although I’ve enjoyed creating stories since I was a child and was encouraged to write through high school, once I entered college, it was all about getting a degree with which I could earn a living.
And I did.
I obtained a BS in Education from Old Dominion University, went to work, and life got complicated. Creative writing was part of another life—one which seemed far, far away. Although I felt that literary itch, I couldn’t/didn’t find the time or energy to satisfy it.
It wasn’t until many years later when financial circumstances allowed me to remain home that I was able to reclaim the writing bug. I got my literary feet wet by self-publishing a historical fiction with a supernatural twist novel in 2012. (If you’re curious, it’s available on Amazon.com and in the Chowan Arts Council Gallery: Sea Snow, the gentle haunting of a 19th century lighthouse.) In honor of my parents, I published it under my birth name and have kept that as my author-name ever since.
Speaking of my parents, my father had been a “frustrated writer”, so each time I have a published work, I send Daddy’s spirit my gratitude for instilling the writing gene in me and always include him in the celebration.
After that first foray into casting my stories out into the world, much of my energy was spent with a new chapter in my life. I found myself happily adjusting to a new marriage—“It’s never too late to live happily ever after”—making a quirky, old cottage our home, and caring for my elderly mother while she battled cancer until her passing in 2016. Mama encouraged me in my creative endeavors and never wanted to impede my efforts, but I found it hard to ensconce myself in the hours of solitude with which I needed to write.
Once I had more time to myself, I turned back to my love of writing. I was, and continue to be, drawn to the betwixt and betweens of life: child and adult, middle age and old age, old age and eternity, the earthly plain and the spiritual realm… With that in mind, I got in touch with my inner twelve-year-old self. I wrote my first middle-grade novel—exploring the one-foot-in-each-world of preteens as well as the intersection of the natural and the supernatural.
I was thrilled when Blue Ink Press welcomed me into its fold of talented authors in 2019. They accepted the first book in my middle-grade series: Zephyr Stone and the Moon Mist Ghost, and the rest is history! (Including my second book, Zephyr Stone and the Haunted Beach House, and the third, launching in July 2024, Zephyr Stone and the Frosty Phantom.)
Write on!
Really interesting, I’m going to see if I can get Sea Snow would love to read one of your books. You come across as being really passionate about your writing
Thank you, Susan! I think a love of writing is in my DNA.