Coyote’’s Song

I remember the first long story I ever wrote. I was in the third grade and my teacher, Miss Steere, asked us each to write a story about something in history. I chose to write about the Donner party and the tragedies that befell them as they tried to make it to the Wild West. I went on and on. I had so much fun and made up stories about the people and conversations between the people on the wagon train. It was like a game to me. It didn’t occur to me that I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. I wasn’t even old enough to understand what it meant to be grown up. Throughout school, whenever I had to write something, I always enjoyed my assignments. I wrote about the Salem Witches when I was in high school and it was exciting to make up ＂real＂ people who lived then and, unfortunately, died. So what did I do when I became a ’grown up’? I worked as an accountant, secretary, draftsman of pre-fab metal buildings. I studied Criminal Justice and worked at the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department for a time. I ended up with a career as a paralegal. Well, that wasn’t too bad. It encompassed a lot of research and writing and, in the meantime, I had actually written short stories, poetry, and two unpublished novels. I did have one non-fiction piece published in a magazine in the 80s. Yippee! Finally, I said ＂enough＂, quit everything, took early retirement, and followed my dream. Now, I’m a writer. I love my life, and I hope you enjoy reading my books as much as I enjoy writing them. I have a lot of fun with my characters and stories. To me, they’re real people and my joy is to share them with you and the rest of the world.