Welcome to my world  - This is where I work now and I have to tell you it’s a very nice place to be. Here I create the weather I want, the time and place I wish to inhabit and the people with whom I wish to share it. No one says anything I don’t want to hear and I can be as scary as I want to be and not have to worry that the doctor will be called to dispense calming medications. I can get back at anyone who was ever mean to me by writing them into a story and making them very sad. I can celebrate my heroes by creating characters that look, talk and even smell the way they do and by always making sure they live happily ever after.

There are social issues that make me mad and political issues that have to be put to rest. In my world, I can change all that or create a character wise or foolish enough to think she can. As a writer, I have high hopes and lofty ideals, a fragile ego and a stubborn streak a mile wide. I feel down when the rejections come in and I whine to my writer friends. Then I edit, re-write, resubmit and start again. I look at it this way. All good writers get rejections. All successful writers keep writing anyway. So far it’s working for me and I have sold enough to be encouraged, been rejected enough to keep my ego in check.

I have many people to thank for this tenacity. My parents for struggling to make ends meet with six kids to feed. My brothers and sisters for loving me, teasing me, nurturing me and growing with me. My husband for always believing in me and my children for showing me that something so wonderful can come from such an imperfect source. I hope that some day the words I have put down on paper will echo a thought, touch off an emotion, ignite a passion or quench a thirst so deep inside you that you will lose yourself and become, for a time, the person who speaks so eloquently from the page. I hope you find yourself reluctant to read the last line and once done will clamor for the sequel. Hey, this my world remember? And that’s how I’m writing my future and yours. I promise you an interesting ride. If you ever wonder what it is like to be a writer, here is a wonderful quote that says it all. “Many people hear voices when no one is there. Some of them are called mad and are shut up in rooms where they stare at the walls all day. Others are called writers and they do pretty much the same thing.” -Margaret Chittenden, writer That’s all for now. Spend all the time you want here in my world. Then go find a quiet spot and a comfortable chair and read for a while.