Reading was my favorite childhood pastime. From the overstuffed chair in my bedroom, I traveled to exotic places and went on hundreds of adventures. My grandmother and I frequented the Bookmobile every two weeks, toting home a grocery sack full of books. Mysteries and suspense novels were my favorites.
I started writing when I was ten. Even came up with a pen name, which I might use someday. I entered a nationwide essay contest and won a trip to Washington DC. I went on to write more essays and win more contests. I even sold a poem to a magazine.
In high school, I joined the newspaper staff, writing everything from human interest to sports. Before long, I became the editor. My teachers encouraged my writing (thank you Mr. Schneider, Mrs. Long and Ms. Buis). When I graduated, I went off to college to major in English.
Life got in the way. I took a break from college to work in the family mulch business, get married and have a couple of kids. My college major switched to business and writing took a backseat.
After a divorce and a remarriage, I bought the business from my parents. I liked the business world and found success, but during quiet moments I plotted novels in my mind.
My characters wouldn’t leave me alone (boy was I glad to join a writers group and find out I wasn’t the only one with voices in my head). On the side I took a writing class. It brought back my passion for writing novels instead of business letters and promotional materials.
In 1999 I started getting sick. It took until February of 2000 for the doctors to begin to unravel what ailed me. With a diagnosis of Epstein Barr, Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia, my doctor sent me home for bed rest.
I never made it back to work. Bed rest became bed ridden. My doctor sent me to another physician, who sent me to a specialist. In the end, I found out I was allergic to the molds in the mulches my company manufactured.
I developed food allergies, asthma, and IBS. To survive, I changed my diet. Thank goodness I loved to cook! I had to cook everything from scratch and from fresh, real food. Slowly my health returned.
I now help others learn how to create delicious meals in a healthy way. I’ve become a wiz at turning regular recipes into allergy friendly ones.
Best of all, God blessed me with the time to write. There are still characters in my head, but now they get put on paper. I’ve written five suspense books. I’m currently working on book number six, a women’s fiction novel that combines five Yankee women, a southern plantation, fabulous food, a cantankerous old cat and a humorous bump in the night.
Right now I'm also enjoying being the President of the Indiana Romance Writers of America. What a great bunch of talented women!
