I am a fantasy and science fiction writer fueled by mocha coffee and dark chocolate. I teach 6th grade English and ESL. I just finished my Masters of Library Science degree. I hope to become a school librarian soon!
I am married and have one child. My son is eight and is a very active, curious, imaginative, creative child. He wants to grow up to be an astronaut.
Who will enjoy this blog?
All good writers are also readers, so we talk a lot about books on here. Have you dreamed of being a published author? Maybe you don’t know quite where to start? How do I know if I’m good enough to publish? What happens after I write my story? How do I revise my short story without revising the soul out of it? How do I find time to write?
In 7th grade I tried writing a book because I didn’t want a series to end. I dreamed of being an author one day, but life and responsibilities got in the way. Finally, at age 39 I decided I wasn’t getting any younger and I was going to make this dream come true. I joined a writing group and got to work. Now, 5 years into this journey, I have a short story published, won an award for my writing, and my first book is about to be released. My goal is to help other writers learn the craft, navigate the author life, and achieve their goals of becoming published writers. I invite you to walk this journey with me.
What do I read?
I read quite a bit, but I wish I had time to read more so I could keep up with my kids–my school kids. I love fantasy, especially epic fantasy, the thicker, more epic the better. Some of my favorite authors are:
Brandon Sanderson
Terry Brooks
Patrick Rothfuss
Leigh Bardugo
JK Rowling
Ursula K LeGuin
Robin Hobb
Cixin Liu
Nnedi Okorafor
Yoon Ha Lee
Mary Robinette Kowal
Victoria Schwab (VE Schwab)
Katherine Arden
Laurie Halse Anderson
Adam Gidwitz
Rick Riordan
AND many, many more!
My Journey
My Manuscript
I write fantasy and science fiction. I wrote about the beginning of my writing dream here. After I came home from college I created a world and wrote 130 pages of a novel. I fumbled around and knew I had a lot to learn, so I started reading books on how to write novels. From those books, I learned I had far more to learn than I ever imagined. I stopped writing for 10 years because I couldn’t begin to imagine how I could implement all I had learned all at once.
I stumbled onto the Writing Excuses podcast and listened to it for the last 8 years. Much of what I know about writing, I learned from that podcast. I can’t say enough good things about it. If you want to be a writer, listen to it. Season 10 is a great place to start because it is a master course on how to write a book from start to finish.
I finished my first fantasy novel manuscript rough draft in spring 2017. I wrote a short story and it earned an honorable mention in the Writers of the Future contest (International contest!!). It found a home on Youth Imagination click here to read it for free. Issue 71.
I’ve written several other short stories since then. Some have been meh. Some are not yet finished. I’m about to release my first book! It is called From Rough Draft to Published.
I hope you like my blog. I absolutely LOVE hearing from you! I would love to hear any suggestion you have to give.
Quill and Books 
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