The Start of the Journey

I didn't suddenly get up one day and decide I wanted to write, nor was I a writer from the time I was a kid. I was a mid to late bloomer as some may call it.

In high school I enjoyed film-lit class (one of the few) it allowed me to see movies I'd never normally watch, but also I had to write reports on the film. I didn't like the writing part so much, but I learned.

It wasn't until the year after I graduated high school that I discovered reading for pleasure. I was visiting my sister, babysitting her kids, and there was nothing on TV but a political convention. I started scanning my sister's bookshelves, not much there, but there were a couple of Harlequin romance books.

I picked on up, it sounded interesting, sat down and started to read. My discover of romance started. Luckily for me, I was driving back from my sister's home and stopped to visit my cousin, who happened to own a used book store.

Jackpot. I filled up three boxes of books, all sorts of book. Harlequin, Historical and Science Fiction. I quickly discovered I really liked romance books, science fiction had a little too much science in it (at that time it did.)

Soon I'd devoured all the books I'd brought home with me and I found, at that time, the chain stores didn't carry Harlequin books but only the Historical's. And the romance sections were very small. Since I was working, I found a small drug store, which carried romances on those old metal round racks.

I knew every month what day I could go and pick up Harlequin Romance and Harlequin Presents books. In the mean time, I found a couple of used bookstores where I could get older Harlequin books, and Historicals.

After reading for a couple of years and being lucky enough to go to a luncheon put on by Harlequin in my hometown, I decided to put pen to paper.

At the time I started writing, word processers were just starting to come out, and there were no computers. I wrote my first book long hand, and then typed it up using an old electric typewriter. Even now I hate to think of how many typos were in that first manuscript.

I finished it up, and shipped it off to Harlequin in London. I was already working full time so I wasn't worried about quitting my day job, but it was a dream.