As author of the "Secrets Beyond Scymaria" series, boasting three books so far—two more are in the wings in various stages, I definitely keep busy. Book four ("Mischiefmaker") should be ready for release soon and book five is still in the "creation" stages. I have withdrawn my books from my first publisher, and the third book from Inknbeans Press (publisher passed away) until I am able to do a re-write on all of them and publish them myself. All three are still available, but only through my SquareUp Market account (https://squareup.com/market/creations... ) MY LOVE OF READING began in second grade. Even a child with learning disabilities, when given the right mentor, can learn to enjoy—and devour books. My mentor was our elementary school librarian. She introduced me to my first book, "Big Red" by Jim Kjelgaard, then "Rikki Tikki Tavi" by Rudyard Kipling. After that, there was no stopping me. I loved the world these books drew me into. My active imagination easily produced a wonderful 3-D portrayal of the characters and the settings. For me, it was only natural to wander from the world of reading to creating my own stories. Spurred on by my sixth grade teacher's assignment to write a story, even with the criticisms of the other kids, nothing could stop me. I was hooked. As I grew up and became busier in my own world, I found less time to write, or even read. And often I wondered what it was that was missing. With the arrival of my daughter, and the endless days and nights of "Read to me, Mommy", it dawned on me what had been missing: telling stories! First, I found myself ad-libbing with her storybooks. There were mild protests at first, but even she was having fun listening to these new story lines. As she flew through her elementary school years, so did I, storytelling in her classroom, then for other classes at her school. It was fun and I was never at a loss for material. The children helped me weave the stories by supplying descriptive bits and pieces—and sound effects. Soon, I was trying to transcribe these stories—a more difficult task that it seemed. When that failed, I simply started to write my own stories and came up with the idea for my personalized stories. (At some point, I will go back and transcribe those stories so that I can produce an anthology of short stories for younger children.) Then, a novel began to form in my head and I started on my long journey that brings me to now: working on the YA fantasy series. I'm a storyteller, turned writer, turned blogger, turned novelist—well, novella-ist. Along the way, I also managed to dabble in photography and many forms of art. I find my life filled to the brim ... and overflowing. And I owe it all to the marvelously delightful talents that God has chosen for me.