Here in western Oregon, we've finally awakened to a sunny day with cloudless, blue skies!  Maybe that one little orange tomato growing on one of our few tomato plants might even decide to ripen.  Cheers to summer in the NW--late in coming, but hopefully here for a few weeks, at least!  Next week we plan to go camping on the coast, so it's even more important to me that the climate stays pleasant.  Whenever I pack, though, I always take clothing for both summer and winter!

   If you've been following my blog so far, you've probably discovered that it's a hodgepodge of writer's tips, author interviews, and excerpts from my latest book, plus the cover.  Now I'd like to throw into the mix a little more about myself, extra info that you won't read on the bio page of my website.  I'm extracting part of the material from the "Welcome Letter" I send to my students at the Long Ridge Writer's Group, so if you happen to be one of them, you've probably read this at an earlier time:  At any rate, because each blog entry only allows me limited space, I'll probably just barely get started this time, but please bare with me.  Parts 2, 3, and maybe 4 will soon follow.

Excerpt from my Welcome Letter

   You probably have lots of questions about me as a writer--and a person.  I'll attempt to anticipate those questions and answer them now.

   I grew up in Washigton state, an only child, so I had plenty of time to spin stories in my head and get them down on paper.  After I entered high school, I became the assistant editor of the school newspaper and editor of the creative writing magazine.  I also kept a journal, which I still have and treasure. 

   My childhood dream, however, was to become a nurse, so writing professionally never crossed my mind. The following years, I attended a nursing school, affiliated with a nearby university, about 50 miles from my home.  Sadly, though, I believed I was too busy then to keep up with my journal, so I let it go.  Yet every year, when it came time to publish the nursing school annual, there I was, penning prose for the opening pages.  Obviously, I just couldn't stop writing.  And believe it or not, writing term papers rated high on my list of favorite assignments!

   Later I married and moved to Oregon, where my husband and I've remained.  We raised two wonderful sons, and in order to be home with them as much as possible, I cut back on my nursing to volunteer as a school and camp nurse.  I also worked part-time at the Student Health Center at our local university, for the county public health department, and at a local family practice clinic--not all at the same time! 

   When our second son had barely turned 3, we discovered he had acquired a rare degenerative hip disease.  The days that followed were filled with medical work-ups, hospitalizations, traction, and two major surgeries.  Because I spent most of my time in the hospital with my son, I had ample opportunity to contemplate my uncertainities and fears--and my thoughts once again turned to keeping a journal...(to be continued).