Writing has been a passion of mine for years. When I was in the third grade, I realized that writing stories could be an actual career and I decided then that I was going to be a writer. I remember the exact moment in class when I thought it, my teacher’s name (Mrs. Owen), and even where I was sitting in the classroom. Events like that have a way of sticking with you.

Of course, when you’re in the third grade, your writing tends to be cheesy and is full of typos and poor grammar. But even so, I was doing what I loved. My very first story, The Mystery of the Missing Ruby, was written on three-hole-punch notebook paper with white yarn binding the pages together.

Rubies, you ask? Yes, even then I loved things that sparkle. Some things never change 🙂