"Reading has been my pastime of choice from first grade, on. I love to read. Books provide the reader with wonderful adventures, travels to exotic places and connections with fascinating characters. Reading teaches us, even if we?re reading purely for the purpose of being entertained; it forces us into the realm of imagination and leaves us richer for the experience. Small wonder, then, given my philosophy on reading, that I should attempt writing, myself. I am the oldest of five children who love to read, born to two people who also love to read. It's in the blood, and is a legacy I'm happily passing on to my own unwitting little children.
Shortly after the birth of our first daughter in '92, my husband and I lived in Atlanta for a while. It was there, as I visited sites of historical Civil War significance, that the first bits of a story took root in my head. What would it have been like to have experienced the Civil War firsthand, but with a 20th/21st-century mentality? Obviously, the only way to do so would be through time travel, and my first story was born.
The book was a five year process; I kept putting it away for months at a time, until finally in January of '98, I decided to get the thing finished and submit it for publication. I did so in June of '98, and after months of anxious waiting, I received a call in January, '99 from Covenant Publishing, telling me that if I made some minor revisions, they'd publish the book.
Needless to say, I made the revisions.
This process has been a fascinating and thrilling experience. To be able to share what I've written goes beyond my wildest expectations, and I don?t take it for granted for even a minute. My family has been wonderfully supportive with this endeavor, and my gratitude to them is boundless.
I am living proof that following one's heart pays off. I graduated from Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, with a degree in Elementary Education. I shouldn't say my heart isn't in teaching; I currently teach preschool and plan to use the things I learned pursuing my degree to supplement my own children's education. It's just that, well, I'm a bibliophile in the purest sense of the word. I love bookstores. I love the way they smell. If someone were to ask me what an ideal Day To Myself would be, it'd be an hour or two at Barnes & Noble, followed by a quick jaunt to Pier 1 Imports, and lastly, a visit to Old Navy, in that order. (All three stores are housed within the same shopping complex in Layton, much to my delight!
In short, (too late!), my heart resides on bookshelves, and reading and writing will always be my strongest passions, aside from love of family. And if I could offer one word of advice to anyone wondering whether or not s/he has sufficient talent to support something s/he loves doing, I quote romance author Gloria Dale Skinner as she states in an article written for Romantic Times Magazine: 'God doesn't give you the desire without the talent to back it up.'"
