Long before I could write, I was a storyteller in my dreams and in the playhouse my dad built in the backyard. Eventually I did learn to write but my stories were still kept in my head and in my heart. They were created as I wandered through old castles and cemeteries in Europe, sitting in middle school classrooms where I had no friends and no plans after school, and in high school when I re-engineered my life in short stories, poems and songs. I created the life I wanted to live. The future that was full of exciting adventures and lots of friends. I even started putting much of this on paper!
As a teacher in gifted elementary classes , a university assistant professor in cultural studies with Dr. in front of my name, and an occasional community education teacher, I learned so much from students. They shared their stories with me, their smiles and their tears, their dreams and their fears. I am a very good listener and I love sitting and watching the world around me. All of these experiences were carefully logged away into a file I keep on my computer of quotes, story snippets, interesting personality characteristics, anything that might be used in a shared story someday.
A cancer diagnosis was the catalyst for writing Sweet Melissa. I was home recovering from surgery for a few months when Gregg Allman died in May of 2017. I sat in my backyard listening to endless hours of his music and a story started in my head. Long before I ever wrote anything, I had characters worked out, a basic plot and my own little tribute to Gregory and his music. The book is not about Allman but his music is certainly an influential component for the characters.
The original concept was to write a trilogy about the Kristofferson/Lee family but another cancer diagnosis has once again refocused my writing. I’m combining the first two books into one book and putting the third on a back burner. I find myself very aware of time these days and I do not want to run out of it before their story is told.
I’ve been very lucky to have the wonderful support of family and friends while I’ve been writing. My daughter Kristin discovered we are distant relatives of Hemingway and as Kristin and my son, Douglas are writers as well as my brother Mark, I thank that genetic gift we can claim!