Blog #1,2/7/2017

Someone once told me that a writer must be a reader. On the surface that seemed logical to me. However, they went on to say as a 'wannable writer I needed to consume every bit of fiction in my genre that I could and then I need to analyze what I liked/disliked about the novel.'

So, I must confess that until the age of 27, I hadn't read a lot of fiction. What I had read was either plays, biographies, or other nonfiction material. At this point, I was already married to a career military officer, working toward my Master's Degree in Curriculum and Instruction at Kansas State University, mothering two young children and teaching Speech and Drama at Junction City Junior High School in Junction City, Ks.

Feeling somewhat exhasted, I scheduled an appointment with a local physician who had an office near the school. After the exam, the physician asked me to wait a moment while he left the room. A few minutes later he returned carrying his prescription pad. A moment later his nurse entered carrying a paperback book. He flashed me a gamine smile and said "Your problem, Mrs. Dare, is that you need a break from life. While I could prescribe something to help you relax instead I'm going to prescribe that every night an hour before bedtime, you stop what you are doing, sit down, put your feet up and read. And your chioce of reading material can only be fiction." And then his nurse handed me a Barbara Cartland historical noval. And I was hooked for life. I still read every night before bedtime.