But why did I become a writer?
By 1986 I had branched out from reading Historical Romance to Contemporary. So, one evening I settled down and eagerly began reading the first chapter of what looked like an action packed Contemporary. Three pages in, the author had the hero take off in a helicopter during a blizzard. WHAT?!? Now, in my household, one can’t be married to a career military pilot and not learn a few important facts about flying.
So, I glanced up at my husband who has his Master Aviator Wings and pilots both Rotary and Fixed Wing Aircraft and read the paragraph to him. When I finished, he shook his head. “Does the pilot have a death wish? No one with any knowledge of helicopters would ever do that.”
It was just as I thought. I sat there a few minutes mulling over the fact then I pitched the book against the wall and proudly announced, “I can do better than that.” And my husband replied with, “Then do it.”
So, I sat down and in the evenings and on the weekends, I would write Contemporary Romance. When I finished one, I would place it in a labeled banker box and begin writing another one. And while I was writing, I read books on ‘how’ to write fiction, joined Romance Writers of America and began to learn my craft.
And finally here we are. Through joy and sorrow, the raising of our two oldest grandchildren, several cross-country moves and after some world traveling, I’ve finally done it. I’ve signed a publishing contract with Black Velvet Seductions for my Historical Romance, The King’s Blade to be released in 2017.