The first one is always the hardest, but here goes...
I wanted to start this blog to keep track of my writing progress and to connect with other writers and readers. More than anything, I love to read, and it was that love that prompted me to try writing. When I was 12 years old, I wrote a "Choose Your Own Adventure" novel, and that was a lot of fun. I took a couple creative writing courses in college, and my teachers encouraged me to keep writing, which I did. I wrote fantasy and historical novels, but they didn't come close to meeting my standards, and have been forever shelved away. All those years, I was busy going to graduate school and starting my career and having my two wonderful children. Writing was a "fun" pursuit, something I did on the side every now and then. I also got into the crazy world of scrapbooking, and even made it to a bunch of design teams for some of the best manufacturers in the business.
Last year (summer and into fall), I read a few books that were outside my normal genre. I had always read historical fiction and fantasy, and stayed away from romance. The "flowering loins" language and mentality were a huge turn off. But then I discovered "50 Shades of Grey", "On the Island", and Laurann Dohner's books, and all of a sudden, it clicked. I realized that the romance genre didn't have to be the sweet sentimental stereotype I had in my head - it could be dark and exciting and passionate. It could be my type of love story, my type of writing. I also had a big birthday in September of 2013 and realized that I'd been putting my writing on the back burner for too long. And so I sat down and tried my hand at erotic romance and finally, it all came together. The writing was fun again and the results lived up to my standards.
And now I'm in the process of busily writing and submitting for publication. Self publishing is also an option I've been looking at. A couple weeks ago, I even went to my first Writer's Conference and pitched my novel to a couple editors. It was a great experience. So now here I am, working on my writing, and trying to fit it all in along with my full time job, my wonderful husband, and my two amazing kids. And I'm still doing scrapbooking design work on the side because I love it too much to give it up.
Feel free to leave a comment or drop me an email. I'd love to meet new people!
