My love for words started on the lap of my mother. As Mom read nursery rhymes and sang songs, I fell in love with the rhythm and cadence of her voice. My childhood was filled with celebrations of the spoken word, a sense of story, and wonder of the world around me. We didn’t have many books, but what we did have were cherished, and pages or poems often memorized.

I started writing as a young child. My earliest recollection is when a neighborhood boy was sick with the measles. I changed the lyrics to a song and sang it on his doorstep! As an early teen, I wrote stories of mosquitoes that lived on top of the hallway thermostat. Silly stuff, to be sure, but fun to write. I wish I had copies of those early writings! 

My first published poem appeared in my high school newspaper. I was a very shy child and adolescent so found it easier to express myself in writing. I joined the Drama Club, and surprisingly, discovered how easy it was to be ‘someone else’ on the stage. It won me the award of Best Actress in the Senior Class Play.                                  

In college, my favorite class was Children’s Literature. Our final project was to write and illustrate a book. “Patches” is about a little boy not wanting to wear anything but his ‘blue dungarees with patches on the knees.’ The book was a true labor of love about the man who was to become my husband. I was infuriated when I received an A-! When I questioned the professor about the minus, she told me I misspelled a word! To this day, I always double check ‘mischief.’

 My first job out of college was teaching first grade in Dracut, Massachusetts. All of my creative energy went into my career. After having children of my own, there was even less time for personal writing. My third child was born, I took a leave of absence, and we moved to New Hampshire. I loved being a full-time mother and shared my love of words with my children. When they were all in school, I became a volunteer in the Hudson school system. I started writing more, delved into research, and wrote, “The Mice of Nottingham Hollow.” (My fellow PTO member, Debra LePage illustrated it.) We raised money through different organizations in town and were able to give a book to every student. It certainly was another labor of love! I contracted the research bug and started a historical fiction novel.

 When I was hired as a paraprofessional in Hudson, I found more time to write. I took a ‘writing for children’ course then started submitting short stories. My fiction was published in The Christian Science Monitor and Victoria Magazine Newsletter. Balancing work, family and writing was a challenge at times, but I persevered. I went back to full-time teaching and brought my Poetry Club curriculum to Pelham, NH. I taught an after-school club of third, fourth, and fifth graders and submitted students’ poems and my own to contests. Several of their poems and some of my own earned publication in Northern Essex Community College’s Peace Poetry anthologies. My love of performing on stage years ago led me to write class plays and offer poetry readings and art exhibits for my older students.                      

Recently, I have had more time to devote to my writing. I have edited and revised a middle grade historical fiction novel, “Gift of the Bear.” (See Fiction and Memoir) I am currently looking for an agent or editor who loves my story as much as I do. In the meantime, I am working on a prequel and spending time on a chapbook of nature poems. I have had several poems published and belong to poetry and fiction critique groups. With their input and support, they have been invaluable.

A professor once told me, “Easy reading comes from difficult writing.”  Writing, rewriting, editing, revising, and rewriting some more is the long process that is necessary for stellar writing. It is hard work, but it is worth every minute. Writing is more than a talent. It is a way of life, fueled by an innate desire that pulls me forward.