It all started with my fifth-grade teacher, Mrs. J. Ever the elegant, perfectly coiffured lady, gave us an assignment to write a short story and read it aloud to the class. Mine was about a group of fifth grade kids who went on a weekend camping trip, and encountered a grizzly bear. When it was my turn, I read.

Poor Mrs. J! I began to notice a twitch around her left eye sometime around the approach of the grizzly bear. By the time the body parts began flying, it had increased to her mouth, and her whole face was as white as a sheet. But she was a trooper, and stayed upright throughout the whole story.

However, the other kids loved the story, because it was about them. Suddenly, I was hooked! Over the years, my writing changed from gory stories (my term as a kid) to space stories. Then spy stories, and finally romance. But the other thing I found I really loved was mystery and romance. I wasn’t satisfied with just reading it. I wanted to write it!