Watership Down comes to mind when I think of great stories and why we write or read anything. I remember at age ten tearing through this Richard Adams novel, lost in the world of rabbits. Talking rabbits! I loved how it felt to be transported elsewhere for a time and have an adventure.
Ironically most of my background is in non-fiction writing, primarily journalism, which puts the reader into the present in a very real way. I have a master’s degree in journalism and have worked for newspapers in Wisconsin, Connecticut and Georgia. I’ve written for magazines in the Madison area over the years—like the now-defunct Grace which I really loved—and I still contribute to a monthly paper called Sustainable Times. I also spent a few years writing advertising for a clothing company in Wisconsin. There, we writers received free discounts on cashmere sweaters, a plush perk that most writers don’t often enjoy.
I’ve written short stories that have received awards and been published online—Madison Magazine for example—and I once got a friendly e-mail from Wisconsin People & Places (formerly Wisconsin Academy) after a short story contest ended saying I almost placed and I should keep going as a writer. I would have preferred the $100 but oh well…
I’m most proud of having finished a book proposal for the non-fiction book I’ve worked on for a few years. I also give myself credit for trying to rewrite this book several times. I really enjoy going to conferences and meeting other writers and agents and editors. That’s become an unexpectedly enjoyable part of my writer’s world. I teach kids to read whenever I can at a local elementary school and doing that is when I am most content.
