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Welcome to my site!
The above photo is of an actual road in Door, Wisconsin, which we came across on a 2011 vacation to Mount Rushmore. The minute I saw it, the connection to my writing career was obvious to me. While my path in life has seldom been smooth and straight, it has never lacked in graces and blessings. This picture depicts the many twists, turns and bends in the road my journey has taken. In the autumn of my life, I began writing "as a hobby". That diversion has spanned three decades to date and still keeps rambling along. Notice how the end of the road (above ) does that as well? I can’t wait to see what lies around the next curve! |
Awaiting the Dawn
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Welcome to my writing world!
The great Michigan outdoors, ripe for writing ideas!
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Welcome to my "office" in the northern Michigan tundra, nestled among the tall red pines. I retired there in December of 2005, hoping to spend my remaining years writing, writing, writing. But God had different plans for me. Shortly after settling in, the then pastor asked if I would "help out part time just until we find someone". Finally, in the fall of 2014, they found someone!
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Now, fast forward to my "office" and Riting Retreat in Ohio where I plan to split my time between the oftentimes snowy tundra and the majestic shores of Lake Erie. Keeping me company, and being an irreplaceable wing man, is my husband and best friend, Tony, and his sidekick ... and our shih poo mascot ... Maximilion Kolbe -- Max for short.
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The great Ohio indoors, ripe for writing ideas!
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God has been so good to me that I feel it's now time to give back. It is my Church experiences that I have drawn on for the OUR FATHER series. Currently I write in the Love Story genre ... with a Christian attitude ... targeting young adults and women of all ages.
To date that includes four books in the OUR FATHER series: FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES (Now available in electronic format on Amazon.com), GIVE US THIS DAY, LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, and DELIVER US FROM EVIL. A fifth book ... AWAITING THE DAWN ... is a stand alone, and is in the works.
Many Thanks!
I'd like to acknowledge three VERY important women who walked with me along my writing journey. My editor, Melanie Winrow, from across the Pond, taught me so much about sentence structure, and allowed me to debate the changes she suggested, rather then expecting me to just accept them. My cover designer, LaRae Larsen Parry, is a jewel I found nestled among so many semi-precious gems. And last but not least, Aja Bardowsky, who designed the layout and was so instrumental in bringing this site to fruition. Ladies, I raise my glass and toast you! Many thanks for making room for me in your busy lives!
I'd like to acknowledge three VERY important women who walked with me along my writing journey. My editor, Melanie Winrow, from across the Pond, taught me so much about sentence structure, and allowed me to debate the changes she suggested, rather then expecting me to just accept them. My cover designer, LaRae Larsen Parry, is a jewel I found nestled among so many semi-precious gems. And last but not least, Aja Bardowsky, who designed the layout and was so instrumental in bringing this site to fruition. Ladies, I raise my glass and toast you! Many thanks for making room for me in your busy lives!
My writing history
In 1997, I worked at a domestic violence shelter where the atmosphere on most days, and at best, was depressing. In order to survive, while I was running the errands inherent to the job, I began to formulate what I called a soap-opera daydream. I always believed this was only a stress-releaser, and would move the characters around like a young girl would move dolls and furniture in a dollhouse, or if you're a guy, GI Joes, quads and hummers in a pretend war zone. This daydream went on for two years. During the second year, my husband developed a muscle condition that grew steadily worse and led us both to believe he would be wheelchair bound before very long. I was frantic trying to figure out how we would make ends meet. One day my stepdaughter, in answer to an email I had sent her, made the comment, “you write so well, you should write a book." It was then that I realized there was a purpose for my daydream, and a possible solution to our financial situation.
Tony and I had gone to see The Eddie Cantor Story at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center and stopped for dinner afterward. Growing impatient with the service, and remembering my stepdaughter’s innocent suggestion, I picked up a handful of napkins and put the words on paper. I wrote for three months — on the steering wheel of the car, in the bathroom, in the doctor’s office — I was driven! In the mountains of Georgia between Christmas and New Years of 1999, I completed my first novel, BITTERSWEET PARKWAY. It had been such an integral part of me since September that I now felt lost and didn’t know what to do to fill the void. Tony said simply, “write another book,” and BITTERSWEET PARKWAY: A BEND IN THE ROAD was born.
However, I had no idea how to get my first book published. I had never taken English Composition in college and did not have the faintest idea how to proceed along those lines. I scoured the bookstores in rural Georgia and finally secured a copy of the Writer’s Market. Armed with a list of publishers and agents, I started a period of correspondence that would continue until August of 2000. At that time I received a contract from a publisher and an offer from an agent to represent me. I declined the contract, and went with the agent. When that didn't pan out, the following February I signed with PublishAmerica and the publication of BITTERSWEET PARKWAY was the result of our mutual labor.
On another note, the muscle problem that my husband incurred turned out to be a side effect of a cholesterol medication and once he weaned himself off of that, his condition steadily improved. I feel the need to mention that I do not believe any of these events happened without purpose. I did not know I had a story to tell; I do not believe this is my book; but I do I believe I am the tool He is using to get the word out.
To date, the BITTERSWEET PARKWAY series is out of print. The books have been rewritten, renamed, and are now a part of the OUR FATHER series. Publication will be announced on this website, Facebook and Twitter.
Tony and I had gone to see The Eddie Cantor Story at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center and stopped for dinner afterward. Growing impatient with the service, and remembering my stepdaughter’s innocent suggestion, I picked up a handful of napkins and put the words on paper. I wrote for three months — on the steering wheel of the car, in the bathroom, in the doctor’s office — I was driven! In the mountains of Georgia between Christmas and New Years of 1999, I completed my first novel, BITTERSWEET PARKWAY. It had been such an integral part of me since September that I now felt lost and didn’t know what to do to fill the void. Tony said simply, “write another book,” and BITTERSWEET PARKWAY: A BEND IN THE ROAD was born.
However, I had no idea how to get my first book published. I had never taken English Composition in college and did not have the faintest idea how to proceed along those lines. I scoured the bookstores in rural Georgia and finally secured a copy of the Writer’s Market. Armed with a list of publishers and agents, I started a period of correspondence that would continue until August of 2000. At that time I received a contract from a publisher and an offer from an agent to represent me. I declined the contract, and went with the agent. When that didn't pan out, the following February I signed with PublishAmerica and the publication of BITTERSWEET PARKWAY was the result of our mutual labor.
On another note, the muscle problem that my husband incurred turned out to be a side effect of a cholesterol medication and once he weaned himself off of that, his condition steadily improved. I feel the need to mention that I do not believe any of these events happened without purpose. I did not know I had a story to tell; I do not believe this is my book; but I do I believe I am the tool He is using to get the word out.
To date, the BITTERSWEET PARKWAY series is out of print. The books have been rewritten, renamed, and are now a part of the OUR FATHER series. Publication will be announced on this website, Facebook and Twitter.
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