I've been writing ever since I was 6 years old. I loved writing stories, but when I read in one of those world records books that a 6-year-old girl was the youngest novelist ever ...I was bound and determined that I would be the second youngest. *blush* Well, I didn't achieve that goal, but I sent my first story out when I was 11 years old. I didn't have a typewriter, any clue about how to submit something, and I had bad penmanship. So, [shudder] I sent out my story to Golden Books, written as neatly as an 11-year-old could write with red crayons and hoped for success. Bzzzzzt!! That wonderful editor, whose name I've long forgotten, sent me a 1-page letter telling me how to submit and encouraged me to keep submitting. Some day I would be a writer. Me! A writer.
       I wrote throughout my school years and never submitted anything again until 1988, a novel. One I had worked on for a few years. It was rejected. It wasn't until 1992 that I started doing anything serious about writing. Thanks to one of my best friends, Marybeth O'Halloran, I entered the short story market. She dared me to write short stories (which I had done a few times in my life). I wrote them every week for 9 months, gathering rejection after rejection, until I sold my first story (January of 1993).
       Since then, I have sold a total of 47 stories (in the fantasy, science fiction and horror genres) and have sold over a dozen stories professionally. Basically, I'm your average, unknown writer. All in all, the profession has been a tough road to travel. There have been lots of setbacks, but with supportive family and friends (friends who are also writers), an honest and dedicated writers group (who are also friends), I hope to be around for the long haul. And believe me, this journey is really a long haul.