I was 11 when I had an epiphany. I had just finished crafting and polishing a poem inspired by a picture of a horse on a hill (I was a typical horse-crazy girl), when I looked at my ode and thought, “This is what I want to do with my life: be a writer.” I loved reading and I loved words: the beauty of them, the magic of them, how they were, as Frank McCourt described them, “like jewels in your mouth.” Of course, he was talking about the words of Shakespeare, but still, at that moment, I was hooked.
Life has a way of sidetracking us. Marriage and raising my two daughters occupied my early adulthood. Writing, although never abandoned, got pushed into the background until my daughters were in high school. At that point, I was anxious to make up for lost time.
Fast-forward to the present. I am now a retired teacher, a besotted grandma of two gorgeous baby girls, a sometime actor and all-round theatre nut, and author of four books, two published by a trade publisher, and two self-published.
I wrote Great-Grandma’s Gifts for my grandchildren, about my Mother, so that they would know about her and her legacy. I am so pleased that she got to see it before she passed away.
Here, on the Ground is a self-published collection of my poems, many of which appeared first in a number of literary magazines. It won a first place award in June 2011 from The Word Guild.
The Land of Mogan is a fantasy novel for young readers, about an older sister, Shalikka, who travels to a dangerous land to rescue her sister Kainee from slave traders. I used to read it to my grade four students during my teaching days. It’s fun when they, now young adults, come up to me and tell me how much they enjoyed it.
The Serenity Stone Murder is a cozy romp set in Thunder Bay, Ontario. It was inspired (read egged on) by my sister who is crazy about murder mysteries. It is slated for launch TODAY June 28 in Thunder Bay.
PS if you’d like to read how my Career with the CBC went, click HERE.
Places I can be found:
Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog 
Congratulations on your launch! I have always loved teachers who could bring the stories alive and it appears that is exactly what you have done for your students. It is delightful that you chose Thunder Bay as your backdrop!
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Thanks so much Peggy! I think it’s time for the world to discover Thunder Bay through literature.
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Reblogged this on theowlladyblog.
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I am a retired teacher and like you didn’t write anything until 2012. Suddenly writing all kinds of poetry and 2 children’s books. I published 4 poetry books with blurb and publisher Brian Wrixon. Have been looking to republish and looking for agent/ publisher for my children’s books. Any suggestions?
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Hi Ann. Thanks for posting. Actually I have been writing since I was a girl. I published my first short story at 14 in a national magazine. (It was a contest for teens.) I got sidetracked but never really left it, just wasn’t able to devote a lot of time to it. However I took creative writing courses every chance I got and studied literature in University. One of the factors in retiring early was to focus on my lifelong dream of being a writer. And it has been a road filled with disappointment, discouragement and occasional successes. I published some poems and articles in magazines and wrote for newspapers. And I joined writers groups and read numerous books about writing.
After many years I got lucky with finding a publisher who loved my work.
All I can say is that you have to stick with it and do everything you can to learn and grow. When I was young I read that success in writing belongs to the undiscourageable. That gave me the determination to keep going.
I wish you all the best success in your writing.
Sincerely, Marianne
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Whoo Hoo. You really did a catch-up. Hello fellow Canadian. Congratulations.
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