________________My Story
Many
years ago, rising from the ashes of a debilitating stress burnout, I
reached for solid unshakeable ground to stand on. I found it in God—the
best and only absolute security there is in life. I found it in the
unquestionable assurance of His love and in His desire to see good
come out of this and all other circumstances of my life. In a time of
utter despair, God became my lifeline. He has been the bedrock of my
life ever since.
Good thing, for
eight short years later my life changed dramatically. The onset of
chronic permanent back pain brought several physical restrictions. I
could no long lift heavy weights and bend over or down any length of
time without disabling pain. What would this perenially active crafter
do now with her free time? In looking around for something, anything, to fill my vacant time, I discovered creative writing.
It
was a God thing. In looking back over my earlier life, I uncovered
numerous hints that this was where I belonged, though I never saw it
until I was almost out of my 30s. A love for composition writing in
school, winner of a second place award in a state writing contest my
last year of high school, my lifelong love of reading and books, an
avid interest in what's going on in the world, and more. I've been
writing ever since, part-time until the last of my children left home,
full-time once my time was fully free.
As
I said on my Home page, I love it! Nothing else in my life has ever
given me such a complete sense of satisfaction and fulfillment. Nothing
has challenged this perfectionist to bring out the very best precise
effort that is in me, and humbled me so deeply in realizing that,
though words are extremely powerful, getting it right is hard to do and
doing so all the time an impossibility. My newest love (Yes, he weighs more than I do.) 
My Personal Life
I
am widowed and have four adult children (one semi-adopted) and several
grandchildren. Next to God and my close-knit family, I have a number of
other loves (I call them oases in my solitary life): singing,
needle-work, gardening, a love of the outdoors, traveling (highlight to
date is a 40-day RV trip throughout Mexico in 1994), and Green Bay
Packer football (Please don't phone me on Sunday afternoons in the fall
unless you are in desperate need or someone is dying). And, of late, my
Newfoundland Sammy.
An
active member of my ELCA Lutheran church, I have for many years served
in the choir, worked with children's and youth groups (including as a
receiving home house parent for my county for eighteen months), and
participated in social concerns groups occasionally, as time and
circumstances allow. I spearheaded the resettlement of a Hmong family
in my church in 1976. I am also active ecumenically and played a key
role in the startup and development of the Area Ecumenical Network of
the Fox Valley, now more than twenty years old.
Will I ever get this gardening thing right?
My Credentials
I have been a
freelance writer for more than thirty years, over twenty of
them full-time. I work from home and also do occasional editing
for fellow writers, complete with marketing directions.
Education
- Valparaiso University with honors with a BS in Home Economics and minors in English and social studies
- Creative writing: extensive study through reading and several years of classes, conferences, and writing schools
- Bible literacy: studied and taught the Bethel Bible Series, reading through the entire or most parts of the Bible five times. This has given me a good working knowledge of the Bible.
- Emotional health: extensive self study, still ongoing
More than 730 credits in more than 109 religious and general interest periodicals in various nonfiction genres, including The Lutheran, Catholic Digest, Live, War Cry, Consumer's Research, VFW, Marriage, Our Family, Preachers Magazine, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and Teen magazine. Contributor to two anthologies.
Five books published with Herald Press, Baker Book House, Judson Press, and Augsburg Books(2). In promoting my books, I acquired fifteen public speaking and ten talk show credits and taught writing and manuscript marketing classes numerous times.
Professional Memberships and Awards
Past member of . . .
- Associated Church Press (ACP). ACP's Membership and Convention Committees, 1994-97.
- Evangelical Press Association (EPA)
- Writer's Information Network (WIN)
- Wisconsin Regional Writers' Association (WRWA)
- Word & Pen Christian Writers' Club
- Fox Valley Writers Club
- Wisconsin Fellowship of Christian Authors
I received several writing awards over the years and have appeared in Who's Who in the Midwest (1998-99) International Authors and Writers Who's Who (1999), Who's Who in America (2000), and Who's Who of American Women (2006-2007).