I love to tell stories and I come from a storytelling family. That was our chief entertainment in 1950s rural Texas. I grew up Catholic on a small farm and my girlhood ambition was to become a nun. I was very serious and from 9th to 12th grade even went to a boarding school in a convent. I changed my mind when I graduated and opted for college, but after I got my degree I became a stewardess, then a very glamorous occupation. After that I worked as a cocktail waitress in Reno, Nevada. Eventually, I settled down and got married, had kids and taught English and Theatre Arts for 22 years. I never lost my taste for storytelling though and one summer, just for kicks, a friend and I co-wrote a screenplay. I loved it and the next summer wrote one on my own. Others followed and I entered them in contests, where they did well enough to get an agent. Three of my screenplays were optioned, which led to lots of flattery, high hopes, endless rewrites and deals that fell apart at the last minute. Finally, I said “enough” and walked away from a renewal offer to become an indie novelist. Like I Used to Dance is my second book.