I was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. I spent a few years in New South Wales, Australia on a religious mission, which didn't help my obsession for exotic parrots. And now, half a million moves later, James and I live in Salt Lake City, Utah--which will probably not be the last of our moving adventures. Unfortunately.
"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are." Kurt Cobain.
So far, I'm quite a bit of things. It would be impossible for me to rank my passions, let alone list them all. So, I'll just start with the loudest and go from there.
I am a Martial ArtistI am a double Black Belt: 1st degree in Haidong Gumdo (think Samurai) and 1st degree in Kung Fu. To that, I add my life-long addiction of Taichi.
If I'm feeling a little discouraged, I go in to a large class and and watch. It doesn't take long to get the excitement pumping back in my blood.
I took Gold in the first annual USA Opens Championship in Haidong on the same day that I tested for my 1st-Degree rank. In the final round, I competed with all guys, over ten years my younger, and obviously still gave them a run--something I will always remember.
There's nothing that says "Insane Madness" like my passion for writing. Since this is why you're all here, I'll start from the beginning:
I've been creating stories since I was old enough to play "My Little Ponies" with my little sister, Jodie (hey, Doe), to which we would come up with terrible things that the other would have to escape from, like being imprisoned on a farm. Yah. Um... perhaps I'll stop there. We were kids! Of course, once we were old enough to stop tromping around on all fours, it didn't end. We had a terrible habit of filling audio and video tapes with all sorts of news-reports that didn't exist, hosting a "hotel for eggs" to which we'd trick them into being boiled, and make-believe plays that never got sent to their designated host. Come to think of it, we were still doing this in Junior High. Wow. No wonder my mind tends to wander.
Goodness, moving on. In my senior year of High School, my English teacher (whom I don't recall her name, but I have a picture of her) made the comment one day (after disclosing that I had so many points in her class that I could sluff off the rest of the year and still get an A... and seemed to support the idea) anyways, she asked me "have you ever thought about being a writer?" It made me stop and think. I had stories. Too many of them. Until then, I had never written them down (I was in an after-school drama class--go figure). Until that year, English had always been my worst subject and so I'm sure any of my other teachers would have shivered at the thought. But, I all ready had characters following me around in my head. LOL Of whom, my current main character was all ready one of them. So, sure. Why not? They seemed annoying enough to hold their own.
So, that summer, I wrote my first book about a young teen boy (in first person) who gets kidnapped by a rivaling school team (never found out the sport), transported to some world with blue grass, and brainwashed so they could use his skills against their arch enemy and win the war! Of course, he does. He becomes a kick-butt warrior and kills a lot of his unremembered friends. Yah. Intense. LOL But, he eventually discovers his true identity and the book ends with his sabotaging the evil guys to complete destruction, his escape from the crumbling society, and decision to find out who he truly is (still trapped on this fantasy world, of course). See? Even back then I was writing in series. Only one problem: the book was a whopping 17 pages (quarter sized sheets, counting both sides of the page) and font 28. I printed it, bound it myself (printed on fancy white daisy paper, since it matched the sinister storyline so well), and gave it to the best crit ever: my mom.
But you know what? She gave me the one feedback that in turn launched my quest to be a novelist. She read it (bless her strong heart), smiled, and said, "It's a good outline. Now try to add some details." Of course I was shocked. That book was the best thing I had ever written! (cough cough choke) but I put my mind to it. My next draft was over 400,000 words. Yup. Thanks mom :) Course, I spent the next few years learning how to crop it down.
War, Freedom, Dragons, Wolves, Fantasy worlds all my own, and young Heroes that don't know they're Warriors yet. "Life is a quest of understanding one's self. It is often a dangerous and perilous journey, for one never knows the shadowed caverns within."
Music tells the story that I can't seem to capture.
I play a Celtic Concert Cross Harp--so called for the cross pattern of the strings, compared to the more modern straight strung style. His name is Eden Eldereck, meaning "Flamed spirit Guide". It's one of those instruments that everyone dreams of playing at one point or another... including me. My sweet hubby made this dream a reality. Eldereck has become a dear friend.
I play now mostly for church events or for my own little home. But either way, the sounds soothe my anxiety and makes the world a little more at peace. I also have been blessed to play the Violin since I was three and the Viola since I was twelve. My mother taught me how to read music when I was learning my ABC's, even though she couldn't read it very well herself, and so it has never left me. :)
It is my belief that everyone needs an "escape". And this is mine.
I would like to volunteer as a harp Music-Therapist someday... when my skills have reached that level.
This is my job. This is what I do, when I'm not doing something else.
I love to create. I love to see a project done from start to finish--especially when it's something that can be finished within a short period of time. In this case, a few days--which is a lot shorter than the time it takes to write a novel.
To see something that I made out of pieces of random things gives me a positive thrill. And, lucky me, people seem to really like them too, so I keep making them. :) I've never gotten so many compliments in one sitting. I made a business out of it. Our website: (link coming soon). Hand sewn book binding is an art. And it's really cool.
Definitely not last and Certainly not least...
If me and my sword aren't enough to scare someone off, I wouldn't want to be messing with "me" with this guy around :) My hubby is big, strong and really protective. And such a sweet and patient teddy bear.
I couldn't have dreamed of a better man for me. And that's saying a lot coming from a writer.
