Born and raised in the Chicago area, my love for the arts flourished. I was never without a pencil and paper, drawing everything I could see. I was into dancing and music. My love for story-telling came from my mother who would often ask me to tell her a story when I’d become impatient while waiting. When I learned to write, I’d jot down short stories and loved it when an English teacher would assign story writing for homework. One Christmas, my 7th grade English teacher mimeographed (does that date me?) one of my stories to pass out to customers in the toy store, her second job. All though high school, I wrote stories about my friends and me meeting and partying with the Beatles. I’d pass the stories around my class.
After my first year at college, I married and began raising a family. My story-telling became bedtime stories and scraps of papers with ideas that were never developed. I actually started a story on a paper bag in the late 70s. It was about a young married architect whose wife becomes the object of desire of an older, wealthy man. He offers the couple a million dollars for one night with the wife. Sound familar? I am a firm believer that if you don’t listen to your ideas and act on them, they move on to someone who will.
Following a divorce, career in Human Resources, and marriage to my terrific husband, I turned 40 and decided that if I was going to get serious about writing, I’d better get going. First was: Necessary Choices – lots of “I see what you are trying to do, but…” from agents. Second book: Snowbird, “I love the concept, but could you develop the relationship between the couple?” A third is in the works.
In my spare time, I volunteer for the women’s shelter. As a speaker, I educate the community about domestic abuse and talk to teens about teen dating violence. I’ve published articles on this topic. I love cooking and entertaining. Give me a group of friends, sipping wine in my kitchen as I prepare a feast, and I’m in heaven. Yoga gets me going in the morning. Reading relaxes me. Golf frustrates me, but I love it. Our Grandchildren fascinate me. My husband keeps me sane. We travel as often as possible.
Tuesdays with Story 