My love for books, believe it or not, had nothing to do with the thrilling Hardy Boy stories I read as a kid. Neither did it come from the wonderful writings of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, which I stil...lihat lebih banyakMy love for books, believe it or not, had nothing to do with the thrilling Hardy Boy stories I read as a kid. Neither did it come from the wonderful writings of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, which I still cherish to this day. No, I would have to say my passion for reading came from living in Alaska...land of perpetual night in the long winter months. When you grow up in a corner of the world that only allows 3 hours sunlight in the dead of winter you quickly find yourself looking for things to pass the snowy season. For me it was escaping, if only for a short time, in the pages of a good book
Now that I am all growed up, I have enjoyed a wonderful life raising three daughters and have reaped the benefits of my joy for reading with a successful career as a writing and producer for television with ABC and PBS in Alaska.
On November 18th, 2017 however, reading and writing stopped giving me joy, it did much, much more. . . It saved my life. At 10:30pm that night I suffered from a major stroke that nearly took my life, and left me in the hospital for the better part of a month. The next three months were the hardest of my life, as I had to learn to do everything all over again. I had to re-learn to talk, walk, eat, and hardest of all, learn to read and write. I was in my hospital bed one evening, several days after the stroke, watching my favorite college basketball team, the Duke Blue Devils, play. After the game, I recall this relentless urge to write to the team and let them know how special I thought they could be. Struggling to make my fingers work a keyboard, I spent two exhausting hours composing a simple three paragraph email. Writing that letter was harder then most could, or should, ever have been. Words that had once come easy were now distant shadows out of reach; fingers that used to play a keyboard like a piano were uncontrollable weights on the end of my hands. When I was finished the email was the absolute worst. . . and best thing I ever wrote. I sent the email, horrible mistakes and all, to the Duke Athletic Director, Kevin White, who kindly replied a few days later with words of encouragement and a promise to pass my message on to the team. Completing that letter proved to myself I wasn't done. I could still tell my stories. I could live.
A year and a month later, I proudly completed my life-long dream of writing my first novel, The Clans - Queen of the Vahsi. I can honestly say this book has most certainly been a life-saver, because without it, I'm not sure If I would have made it back.
These days, when I'm not avoiding the local bear population for rights to the best fishing hole, or cheering the Blue Devils on, I enjoy my days enthralled in the mystical world of urban fantasy. Currently I am working on the final edits of my second book, sequel novel The Clans - Sisters of the Pleiades. I am hopeful to finish the new book for readers soon and be released by spring of 2019, I will keep everyone updated. Until then, live life fully, and chase all your dreams fearlessly!lihat lebih sedikit