My first "book" was a collection of letters to family and friends. I was the kid who didn't mind sitting down with pencil and paper to write to the relatives. And they weren't just thank you notes either. I would expound upon the part I got in the school play, or the cool rock I found by the stream, or the dirty state of the latest kitten I had rescued. As I didn't have a Xerox machine, I would hand copy each of those letters, so that I would have one to send and one to keep in my "book" binder. I gushed with pride, when at last my binder was busting full-at-the-seams. I would often visit its pages to love and admire all that hard work. Now, happily married, with two young children of my own, who enjoy stories of mystery and magic, I am inspired to dream up characters that excite them. "TJ & The Cunning Cantrip Competition" was my first published work. And what a grand moment that was—to open a box full of professionally bound paperbacks! Wowee! I've come a long way! :)