At 8 years old I confessed to my fifth grade teacher I loved to read and I vowed I would be a writer someday. That same year I received a manual typewriter as a Christmas gift and I proceeded to finger peck the keys into worried stubs.
In my early 20's, inspired by Kathleen Woodiwiss, I wrote my first romance novel upon an electric typewriter. With the naivety and toughness of a baby bird, I sent my manuscript to a publisher. I was so crushed at my first rejection letter I re-examined my life, went to college, got a job.
After many years slaving in a highly stressful career as a government social worker I was tired. My dream to write lay buried in a shallow grave, but there was still a heart beat. And then I read Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, and it changed my life. Her writing uplifted my spirit, and I knew what I must do.
Now I pound the keys of a laptop with a word processing program and I wonder if this is what heaven is like. Maybe someday I'll even get published.