“I was raised on a small rural farm in the Panhandle of Texas where my only friends were imaginary.  While my father harvested cotton, I cultivated my imagination.”

 

“When I was very young, perhaps four or five, I asked my mother, “Mommy, where did I come from?”  Ever calm in a crisis, she explained that I am Scotch-Irish, English, and Cherokee.  The revelation that I might be part Cherokee has inspired me to search for my heritage and study the culture.”

 

“In high school, my English teacher liked my little stories and encouraged me to be a writer.  The hard work and long hours working on a farm inspired me to look for something else to do for a career but I was told that you can’t make a living writing.  So I went to college, got a degree in mid-management and spent forty years making a decent living in the business world.”

 

“Since high school, I have continued to write stories--I can’t not write--but never tried to publish anything until I retired in 2012.”