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Writers are readers. Obsessive readers. The written word offers adventure, encouragement, mystery, romance, humor,
and knowledge. It is cathartic and therapeutic, enriching and invigorating.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow summed up the essence of an obsessed reader: “The Love of learning, the
sequestered nooks, and all the sweet serenity of books.”
I officially entered the publishing business three years ago, but I’ve always been a writer. I’ve
known it from the moment I learned how to read. Ever since that first day of kindergarten when I stomped home and accosted
my poor mother with the words: "There's a lot of stuff I don't know yet. . . .What are you waiting for? Start talking and
tell me everything there is to know! Hurry!"
As I said, we're a bit obsessive.
I wrote my first book, Timmy - the Very Bad Bunny Angel, when I was in first grade, complete with
an about the author page at the end. I had inhaled every Nance Drew, Hardy Boys, and Boxcar Children books I could find and
felt ready, at the mature age of seven, to join such greats as Gertrude Chandler Warner, Franklin W. Dixon, Carolyn Keene,
and Alfred Hitchcock. Although my manuscript was never finished (the artwork really slowed me down), I experienced a rush
in seeing my name on the cover of a book. With Timmy the bunny, no less. 
And although my writing has waxed and waned over the years, my love of learning and of reading never has.
As a mother of three young children, I’ve found myself reading (and re-reading, and re-reading) favorite bedtime stories;
together we’ve raced through the Chronicles of Narnia, The Happy Hollisters, and J.R.R. Tolkein. Sadly, my young readers
also prefer the works of Dav Pilkey, author of Captain Underpants. So much for Longfellow’s serenity.
What I discovered in the last five years is that not only do I enjoy a good story, I enjoy telling a good
story – particularly one riddled with humor and Spiritual parallels. I love the challenge of staring down an empty computer
screen and then filling it with something meaningful, something with purpose. Or in the worst-case scenario, at least something
superior to Captain Underpants.
This past summer, NavPress Publishing House released my first book, The Velveteen Mommy – Laughter
and Tears from the Toy Box Years. Most definitely a God thing. I thank the Lord for creating an insatiable desire within
me for the written word, and I thank Him for communicating to me through His Word, the Bible.
How did I get started as a writer? By being an avid reader. As a newly published author, I look forward
to the next writing project God has in store for me. But for now, I’ll revel in the thrill of seeing my name on the
cover of a book. With a pink bunny this time. Coincidence? I think not.
*also published on the Christian Authors Network Blog, September, 2005
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