The Cleveland Clinic's media relations department recommended me to a reporter at WKYC Channel 3 News in Cleveland, Ohio, to interview for his Breast Cancer Awareness Month series. It aired Wed., Oct. 16 and is posted on the station's website.
They shot much of the interview in our rose garden, which still has a strong flush now!
My earliest playtime memories are of drawing pictures with colored chalk on a small blackboard when I was four years old. Alone in the playroom, I'd draw a cat, dog, or horse and make up a story about it. I kept the stories in my head, since I hadn't yet learned to read or write.
One of my favorites was about a horse I named Champ. He was white with large spots that looked like coffee and cream stirred up, and his mane and tail were black with some white in them. He lived at the riding stable we went to, and in my story, I rode him all by myself on trails through the fields and woods. We galloped!
In reality, my older sister took lessons on a similar-looking horse, and my riding was limited to sitting in front of my father astride a safe old mare who only walked. I liked that, but what I imaged was much more fun!
Learning to read opened up delightful new worlds for me, and I'm always sad when I finish a book and the story is over. I love books so much that I always wanted to write them; by the second grade, I was folding sheets of paper and writing stories in "books."
My first job was writing a school news column and features for a local weekly newspaper. I loved having a by-line as well as earning good money. I attended the University of Missouri School of Journalism, and won an award for a business feature. However, I changed to advertising because it combined writing, art, business and psychology, and allowed for a more positive outlook. During college, I worked at the local radio station, and I still remember feeling thrilled when my boss introduced me as "a writer."
Upon graduation, I needed to earn a living. Ad agencies weren't hiring newbie copywriters during that recession, so I sold newspaper advertising, which paid well. My early career zig-zagged between low-dollar creative opportunities and sales gigs I took when I needed money.
I combined all of my skills when I started a marketing communications company to serve technical and business-to-business clients. For 20 years, I loved crafting their stories explaining how they could help their customers. I developed the concepts, did the writing, art direction and project management, working with photographers, graphic designers, and website developers. I often felt like the kid with her chalkboard as I created brochures, ads, or articles. But I had no energy to write fiction after-hours.
I retired early to write novels. As I wrote each scene, I felt pure joy! My first novel, Family of Choice: Raising Each Other, will be published by the end of 2023, and I'm eager to get started on the next book in the series.
Our priest often asks us, "Where did you see God this week?" So, I've developed the habit of opening my eyes to his omnipresent presence.
Lounging in my hammock recently, I saw God everywhere: In the bright blue sky and the cloud beyond the branches; in the massive maple tree; and in the natural rhythms of the changing seasons he created, to which the colorful leaves served as a reminder.
I love this tree. Besides giving me a shady spot to rest, it provides nests and a playground for multiple litters of baby squirrels, a smorgasbord for a nuthatch that patrols its trunks for insects, and habitat for pairs of Downey and Red-bellied Woodpeckers.
I shot this photo just before the hammock came down for winter storage. God will continuously show his face to me in the coming days through the beauty and darkness of winter.
Where did you see God today?
Despite having a full box of toys, my two young Tonkinese cats prefer to make their own. Recently pulled from the recycle bin, this cardboard pull-tab from a Fancy Feast® Collection case is now their favorite. They bat it across the floor, toss it in the air, pounce on it, and carry it everywhere. And if one grabs it and runs, the chase is on!
If you're wondering why this blog post is on my author's website, one of the early readers of my soon-to-be-published novel, Family of Choice: Raising Each Other, liked one character's calico and requested in her notes, "More cat, please!" So, I'm planning to include felines based on these two in the series' second book. Since I'm not sure of their fictional names yet and to preserve their privacy, I'll refer to them here as Brother Boy (top in photo) and Sister Kitty.
I'm just beginning to develop the outline, so they can serve as my mews!