I´ve been writing officially (officially means "getting paid to write") since 1991. Before that I taught high school English, speech communication, and coached the drama team. Though I loved working with high school students, I quit teaching because I wanted to be home more with my family without mountains of papers to grade at night and on weekends.

Except for one summer in my late 20´s driving a hay truck when my husband and I hauled hay on farms as a sideline job, most jobs in my adult life have revolved around words: public speaker, copy editor for a literary agency, freelance writer, and public relations for promoting agencies and organizations. (By the way, hauling hay was quite lucrative because I discovered the faster I drove the truck, the more hay we could haul as long as the people loading the hay could keep up with my driving.)

As a child, I was one of those nerdy kids who loved diagramming sentences on a quiet afternoon. What fun! Hmmm, maybe that´s why I never had flocks of friends. . . .

However, writing and speaking to audiences is also fun and a little more socially acceptable. Plus, it´s even more fun to help motivate people to grow in their abilities and become confident writers and speakers.

I´ve been married for 38 years to a wonderful man who puts up with my idiosyncrasies. We have two "children" who are now grown, married, and have their own young children. We also have a three-legged, overweight cat who snores loudly by my desk as I work---and snores loudly on the bed when we sleep at night.

One tidbit of interest in my personal life is in the location of where I live. I always wanted to live in cold climates but somehow, for the last 20 years have lived in one of the hottest cities in the United States in the Arizona desert. It´s where the London Bridge was moved to after it was torn down, auctioned off and sold, dismantled, and moved brick by numbered brick to the desert here. But, it´s been an interesting experience, and it´s given me lots of opportunities I wouldn´t have had without living here.

One thing I´ve always been passionate about is knowing that people have the ability to change and can be better than they were the day before. Whether I´m speaking or writing, that´s the main motivational message I want to impart: every moment is a new opportunity to be more than we were the moment before.

You can read more about me on my website www.wordwardrobe.com .

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