Get to Know Rainy...

 I never dreamed that writing would become my life, and  safe haven in troubled times. But after choosing a writing desk over a "bride doll" the Christmas I turned 10 years old, the hours I spent sitting at that desk writing stories and poems grew into a dream that would carry me through life’s twists and turns.

After high school, I thought I didn’t need a college degree to write; what I needed was experience. Inspired by my favorite poet, Rod McKuen, I wanted to travel all over the world working odd jobs too. I quit college after six weeks and hit the road. Hitchhiking from city to city, busking on street corners and working at whatever I could find, I experienced the sort of life I read about. Kind of. 

But life on the road was rough, tougher than I imagined. I ended up broke, hungry, and farther away from my dream of being a writer than ever. 

Eventually, I settled in Chicago. There I tried to break into the exciting "Mad Men" world advertising in the 1960s. But lacking a college degree, the best I could get was work as a department secretary. 

It wasn’t glamorous, but I used the opportunity to learn everything I could, sneaking peeks at the writers’ work and soaking up their creativity. 

Eventually, I broke through, carving out a career in technology training writing—a path that brought me success and five national awards for materials I wrote. But that kind of writing did not satisfy me.

Finally, I went back to school and earned my BA, an MA, and finally an MFA in Creative Writing. 

After spending a few years teaching writing at local colleges, I finally got around to doing what I want--sitting at my little writing desk and writing all day. 

My first accomplishment came after my father died, when I self-published his wartime memories in The Able Queen. Pulling his own words together with commentary and research, his thrilling adventures of flying over the Himalayan Mountains under fire in WW2 China got me stared.

Now, I've made the leap into fiction writing. My first novel The Other Side of Moonlight, will come out next spring. Another book for people who have lost their jobs unexpectedly is due by Christmas. 

Looking back, I’m so glad I didn’t choose that bride doll, even though I still dream of her. That little desk wasn’t just a place to write—it became the wishing well of my life.