ABOUT

I am a former elementary school teacher. Teaching students the writing process inspired me to write. I have always loved listening to stories, telling stories, and now writing stories.

When I was a kid, writing in school focused more on non fiction. I remember writing a report in elementary school about the moon. This was before a person had ever landed on the moon. Getting to the moon was a future dream, but NASA was working on it. I don’t remember many creative writing projects in elementary school.

The writing I did for "fun" was a neighborhood newspaper called THE TWO PENNY PRESS.  The name signified how much the paper cost.  A neighbor friend and I created this paper with the help of my mother. I remember writing the “Dear Paula” column. Kids in the neighborhood would write me a letter and anonymously drop it off at my house. I would read those "problem" letters and print my response in our newspaper. Keep in mind, no computers back then, just typewriters and ditto machines.

I have always had a love of books. When I was in elementary school, I couldn't wait for Library day.  I loved when the librarian read to us. I was mesmerized when Mrs. Hyde, our librarian, read THE DOOR IN THE WALL, by Marguerite de Angeli. It took me to a different place and time. Checking out books to take home was the best!  

I loved books so much that I had my own lending library on a book case in my bedroom. I organized my books and put pockets and library cards in the back of each book. My friends signed out books from my library. To be honest, I not only loved the words and the story, I loved the smell and feel of books.

One of my favorite genres as a child was biography. I especially loved reading about the lives of people in history or current events. I wasn’t a “bookworm.” I really loved baseball and wanted to be outside playing it. So, it might not seem surprising that THE AL KALINE STORY was one of my favorite books. For those of you who don’t know, Al was a famous Detroit Tiger Hall of Famer.  My Dad took me to Tiger baseball games, just the two of us. Al Kaline was the star of the team and my hero.

As an adult, I love to read many different types of books. I have participated in book clubs and enjoy discussing books with kids and adults. I read picture books all the time and love creating my own stories. I also love to read aloud picture books to children or anyone who will listen!