Yes I did remember it was my turn to do this but I only remembered yesterday, so enjoy.

If I start at the top it would be that I was born in Louisville Kentucky. My first job was when I was in ninth grade and I volunteered as an usher at the professional theatre. I could stand in the back of the theatre and watch the plays and run out just before intermission to open the doors and serve soda in little paper cups. I was hooked and I was already an avid reader so I would spend time in the stairwells of the theatre writing all the wonderful ideas (I thought so) that came to me and one day I planned to turn them into my own stories. My next theatre gig was working at the summer Shakespeare theatre where I was the stage manager and had to stand in for Puck in “A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream” one night, complete with body hugging tights and plastic ivy stitched to it. After being raised by a single working mother and the oldest of three I was ready to leave home after graduation. I got a small scholarship and headed to college in Austin Texas and majored in Theatre Arts. After a year in college I joined the Navy and became an aircraft mechanic and worked on jets and helicopters. What a change that was but I wound up loving it. After four years on active duty I married the man of my lust and we were active duty geographical bachelors for the next three years until we started a family (two sons, nine years apart). For the next eight years I was a navy wife until my husband retired and we decided to stay in Lemoore.

About eight years ago I split from my husband and began the long climb back to the independent and creative person I once was. I know now that I was born with a wanderers soul that translated into my creative side taking the lead in many of the things I’ve done and the places I’ve gone. Before the split I had started reading again and specifically I read romance. I read in one of the women’s magazines that this was an idea to spice up your lagging love life. It didn’t fix my marriage but I did rediscover my love of reading and the ideas that began to float around in my mind. About a year after I started my reading marathon I read an article about a writing group that was forming right here in little Lemoore and nothing could stop me from going. When the original organizer left the group a year later I took over to keep it going. The group grew and changed and moved to different locations for over eight years until I handed the reins over to another writer so I could move onto a more specialized group (YRW). That first group is still alive and doing well. There have been some bumps in the road since I got the writing sign and I have struggled with the ever present thoughts of “who are you kidding you’re not a real writer” and “you have too many other things that need to be done to spend time writing” but I keep coming back to the surface for a renewed breath of fresh writing air and I write and look forward to the next meeting I can attend. I have other hidden talents such as, knitting, crochet, sewing, and more recently quilting. I try to put a touch of these crafts into the stories I write. I have a good job now and it takes me back to my days in the Navy since I work at the base with a bunch of guys that drive fuel trucks to fuel the aircraft. I recently got to go up in a World War II aircraft painted a bright yellow and look down at the base from 5ooo miles up. You never know what I might do next.

Let me start by telling you that I have always loved to write, from the usual grade school reports right up through working on my high school paper and later developing educational presentations and career-related non-fiction articles.  Of course, that wasn’t the type of writing I really wanted to do.  Unfortunately, life got in the way (doesn’t it always?) and I had to put my ideas on the back burner. Little did I know that I would have to wait nearly fifty years before I would have the time to devote to my secret passion. Imagine walking around with plots rattling around in your head and no time to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. And it wasn’t due to procrastination – honestly.

I was born in Massachusetts and grew up in sunny Southern California, in a little town called Downey. It’s located about halfway between Los Angeles and Disneyland. I was the firstborn of four children.

Dad went from the Navy to being an aircraft machinist who eventually worked on parts for the Space Shuttle.  He also spent ten years as a Deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, where his most exciting assignment was being part of the security escort when JFK was campaigning before the 1960 election. He was one of the uniforms running alongside the convertible as we watched the arrival on TV.

Mom wasn’t nearly as exciting. She was a homemaker most of the time we were growing up, and usually wore capris and sandals instead of the June Cleaver house dress and heels.

As a kid, I discovered a love of reading that would be a lifetime companion.  I read all of the kid classics, wept through Heidi and Black Beauty, laughed at the Bobbsey Twins and devoured all of the Nancy Drew Mysteries. My friends and I were careful to ask for different titles for Christmas and birthdays so we could trade. Then I moved on to Trixie Beldon and Cherry Ames.

By the time I was twelve, I changed my career goal, having eliminated such lofty choices as ballerina, jet pilot, and scientist. I finally decided that I would become a nurse, with journalist a close second.  I still loved to write, but a heavy curriculum in high school combined with outside activities left little time for indulging fantasies. I did, however complete regular assignments and contribute short stories and feature articles to our weekly high school newspaper.

After high school, I started working full time and taking college classes part time. I became a medical assistant, always with my nursing goal in sight. I also had a full social life and eventually married. We moved from Southern California to the Central Coast, which was the highlight of our thirteen year marriage.

After the divorce, I was accepted into the Cuesta College Nursing Program in San Luis Obispo. I carried a full schedule, worked three part time jobs, and with the assistance of a student loan and several small scholarships, graduated two years later and passed my RN Board Exam.  That was back in the dark ages, when you had to travel to either Los Angeles or San Francisco and spend two entire days completing the examination.

I spent the first year of what I refer to as my “second life” as a Med/Surg nurse on the night shift at a local hospital. I had no time to even think about writing and was usually too exhausted to do any reading, either.

I had always been interested in Psychology and decided that I needed a change, so I went to work at Atascadero State Hospital, starting as a staff nurse and then promoting to clinical nursing supervisor.  I became certified through the American Nurses’ Association as an official Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse, which entailed many additional classes and numerous hours of study, culminating with another grueling examination. That year it was given at USC. My career at ASH lasted twenty-one years and time seemed to flash forward. I have some wonderful friends from that experience (staff, not patients) and it was a fascinating career, not to mention challenging, as well.  I never thought I would find myself working at a maximum security mental health facility with an all male population of felons.  Lots of stories to tell, but no time to write them.

On a personal note, shortly after I became an RN, I met George.  We spent two years getting to know each other before getting married – nearly twenty-seven years ago.  Thanks to George, I have five step-children, four grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

When George and I decided to retire in 2005, we chose to relocate to Coarsegold, nestled in the Yosemite foothills, where we enjoy living in a small, rural community of all ages. We love being surrounded by pine trees and granite boulders with a short commute to all of the great entertainment and artistic venues offered in Fresno.

Over the years, I have attended many writing classes, conferences and workshops and have been part of two previous critique groups. I’ve learned a lot about writing over the years, but it was Sunny Baker’s classes and enthusiasm that really gave me the courage to recognize just how much I want to realize my dream – at last.  I’m now happily engaged in yet another critique group (WROTE, acronym for Writing Romance Over The Edge), am working on my second submission to Woman’s World and have two novels in various stages of completion. My goal? To be the Janet Evanovich of the over fifty set, creating quirky characters that approach life with humor, a sense of adventure and joyous abandon.

On a parting note, the first time I attended YRW as a guest, I was amazed by the accomplishments of your members.  I felt surrounded by an astounding level of creative energy and knew I had to become a part of this wonderful group.  Thank you all for your welcoming attitude and ongoing inspiration.

In Jr. and Sr. High I wrote poetry. I submitted poems to our local newspaper’s Poet’s Corner and they published them. There was another writer who only referred to his or herself as Tabu. I always competed with this anonymous person and found out many years later it was an elderly gentleman, a neighbor, who got a big kick out of me trying to outdo him. He said he felt like he kept a creative spark alive. I guess maybe he did–it kept me writing.

My mother passed away when I was 14. I started journaling at that time. It was therapeutic and helped me through those dark days. It also showed me the valuable tool of getting ideas down on paper before losing the feelings. Little did I realize at the time how important this is when writing a novel.

Immediately after graduation my father insisted I go to California where one of my sister’s had moved. I didn’t want to go but he told me to just try it. Long story short—I fell in love at first sight with this dreamland and never looked back. My first romance was with a high school English teacher who was an aspiring writer. It was a new world of literature for me. He introduced me to the writings of ee cummings, James Joyce, Ferlinghetti, etc. We both wrote poetry and he critiqued mine, although I didn’t know that term at the time. Abstract writing was all the craze then, late 60’s, and this is what was going to propel me to fame and fortune (sic). I learned a lot from this young man and our romance lasted for one year. It was a difficult breakup for me—not because of the love factor—it was the tutelage I was going to miss. Just last year I decided to google him and see if he ever attained his goal of getting published. Indeed he did. He gave up his teaching career and became a full-time writer. The shocker is that he wasn’t successful from writing abstract poetry, but writing children’s books. You just never know….

My writing went on the back burner for about 25 yrs. at during which time I got married, had a child, divorced, got married again and had another child. The second marriage was a good match and we’re still together. My husband was a propman for the studios and was gone on location a lot of the time, but I kept busy raising the children, working a part time job at an ad agency and attended college classes at night, taking any English reading and writing classes I could find. There was an experimental class at Santa Monica College that combined viewing films and writing about what we thought the film was trying to convey.

I loved living in the beach area but we knew if we wanted to purchase a house we’d have to move to the affordable San Fernando Valley. We bought a house in my sister’s neighborhood and life was very busy for the next couple decades, the dream of being a writer now a distant memory.

In 1998 my husband had a small stroke. He was 59 yrs. then and hadn’t planned on retirement early, but the warning was there and we weren’t going to ignore it. We’d been coming up to vacation at Yosemite and Bass Lake for several years. We decided this was the place for us. The hardest part was leaving my boys and my grandson. I was hoping that by some chance they’d move up here too, someday. We rented a house and I decided I may as well retire also. I took up scrap booking and he had his hobbies and we kept ourselves busy for about a month. I decided that retirement was not my path, yet. I got a job as admitting clerk in a physical therapy office. I loved being in contact with so many people and getting to know better the town where we had moved. We bought a house in the country and my husband was happy to be taking care of his own home again. I stayed at my job for five years and decided to try retirement again. My younger son moved in with us so he could attend college in Fresno. After three months of my second retirement I was feeling unproductive so went back to work, this time as manager in a real estate office. Again, I was surrounded by a great group of people. I am so fortunate to have many supportive friends and they were a great comfort to me when we lost our oldest son in 2007. He was diabetic but his passing was unexpected. We still miss him so much. He was a sweet soul on this earth. His son, my grandson, moved here and resides with his maternal grandparents, whom we’re very close to.

I had a group of friends I met with each week; one is a writer. She belonged to a critique group and urged me to join several times. I thought the idea was preposterous. I only wrote as a hobby and haven’t even done that in many years. Still, it got me thinking. I unearthed my bits and pieces of stories, and wondered if perhaps I could write a short story. The next time she told me of the class, I took a deep breath and said yes. That step was to take me on a whole new journey—one I never thought would happen. I attended a Women’s World workshop headed by Sunny Baker. I couldn’t believe I was in a room of women writers, working on a story to be submitted to a magazine. The surprising thing was it was a romance story. I never thought I’d ever be a romance writer. It was a heck of a lot of fun so I decided to see if I could do more. I took weekly classes for a year from Sunny to learn the craft of writing. On my very first day she asked me what I wanted to write. I said oh, just short stories. She said how about a novel? I replied that I could never do such a thing. She told me something I will never forget. A novel is merely a series of short stories divided by chapters. I decided that it was worth a try. I didn’t have anything to lose. Within one year I had my first novel finished and am now in the second rewrite. It’s amazing how much the story is changing. The more I learn, the better I can pick out the flaws.

Nanowrimo was a revelation in that I discovered I could write 60,000 words in one month. Another novel is in the future from last year’s contest. Sunny got me involved in YRW and RWA and we’ve formed a critique group, W.R.O.T.E. (Writing Romance Over The Edge). She’s been a real mentor for me. I’m still submitting stories for Women’s World and hoping for an acceptance one day. The YRW meetings are electric and I love that real writers, women just like myself at one time, have made it. It gives me hope and inspiration to keep writing.

If you’ve wondered whether it pays to have a website prior to publication, the answer is: Yes. After the Golden Heart finalists announcement, I had several agents and one editor contact me and request my manuscript. They found me through my website after Googling my name. Sheri

I was born in Oklahoma City.  I was only a toddler when my parents moved on to a small farm in Arkansas.  I have two short memories of living there before we were off to my Father’s home state of Kansas.  We lived in and around a succession of small towns in the Wichita area where I started my education in a little one room country schoolhouse.  My first day of school, I had to sit on a dunce stool in front of the class for talking.  No one told me you didn’t talk in school.  About a week later they told me I had to play baseball at recess.  That was what they did at recess then.  The kid ahead of me hit the ball and threw the bat which then connected with my head. That began a long and uneasy relationship with the educational system.  Not long after that the Dr. told my parents to take me to western Kansas or Colorado.  I had asthma and it was their opinion I would do better in a higher and dryer climate.  They were right and I was able to keep it under control most of the time.

My father was not a social person and because of that my mother held her own sociability in check.  Family friends were few and far between.  With this scarcity of family friends, the fact that I was an only child and we moved frequently, making me constantly the new kid in school, I came to love the isolation of western Kansas and Colorado.  It was here that I made my first attempt at writing.  A criticism from my father caused me to bury the idea that I was smart enough to write.  Through the years the one thing that kept me happy was books;  books, books and more books.  I could read all I wanted and between those pages have a wonderful assortment of friends.

When I was in the fourth grade we returned to Wichita.  By that time I had read every children’s book I could get my hands on from the Bobbsey Twins to Little Women.  I graduated to westerns as my father always had them around.   I attended three more schools by the time I graduated high school.  While I loved studying and learning, my experience with so many schools had not fostered a desire to go there.  My parents were both working at the time and I probably held the world’s record for absenteeism.  (I could have written a complete book for kids on excuses for missing the bus!  Ah!  Lost opportunities!)  Most of those days “off” were spent at home happily reading.  By mutual agreement with the school, I took my senior year by correspondence  from a college and loved it.

After high school I worked at two bank jobs, one in Wichita and one In Arkansas before deciding to go to Portales, New Mexico and return to college.

My parents were moving again and decided to go to Clovis, a town not far from where I was going to school.  On vacations from school I worked in their small restaurant.  Clovis had an Air Force base and it was in my parent’s restaurant that I met my airman husband.

When he received orders to go to Viet Nam we decided to get married right away.  We had two and a half months before he left.  Everyone said it wouldn’t last.  I went to another bank job until he came home.  When he was discharged he returned to college in Las Cruces, New Mexico and I slipped into another bank job there.  It was there our first daughter was born.

After graduation he started a career with AT&T in Socorro, New Mexico and our second daughter was born.  I became a stay at home mom and those years were some of the happiest of our lives.  We had many close friends there that we still keep in touch with.  I love the desert and the mountains and the Spanish architecture and the slower pace of life.  I have story ideas I hope to someday write using that setting.

Our next move would then take us to New Jersey.  By that time my parents were older and my being an only child we decided to take them with us.  Those were both good and difficult years.  My father was difficult, my mother was nosey, gave us unwanted advice and unconditional love.  A few years later we were transferred to a rural location in Colorado.  Our daughters were able to spend several school years in a small town environment with all the good things that offers.  My parents were close by but were able to live on their own.

Our last company move was to California.  My father had passed away so once more we took my mother to live with us and she remained with us until her death.  A multi-generational household is not an easy thing to maintain but it does have its blessings.  We have wonderful family memories and my children have a better understanding of family love and responsibility than most.  After a few years in California my husband retired.  Our daughters found husbands and began their own families.  We finally put down roots.  We have been in California longer than we have lived anywhere else.

Through all the moving I continued to read.  I am an incurable “keeper” of books and my husband has patiently moved a growing number of boxes filled with books from one side of the country to the other.

While the girls were in high school and college in Fresno I went to work for AT&T and was laid off after a few years.  I went to work for Pacific Bell for another twelve years.  It was during this time when the girls went off to college that I started to write.  Then, as we hear so many writers say, life got in the way, and I didn’t pick up the pen, or should I say the laptop, until two years ago.  I am so happy I did.

On a personal level, I like people but I can be happily solitary also.  I have never been a joiner of clubs and groups but I absolutely love every one of my fellow YRW members.   My only regret is that I did not find RWA sooner and get serious about writing years ago.

It’s wonderful that a number of YRW members are planning on going to the 2012 conference in Anaheim. That will make my Golden Heart experience even better.

I am absolutely thrilled. And as crazy at it sounds, it couldn’t have happened to two nicer characters–David and Charlotte. I’m so happy it was them.  Sheri

A publication I miss from my younger days is the Saturday Evening Post. When it arrived each week I sat down and read it from cover to cover. Mostly I remember the outstanding short stories: The Man from Laramie, The Searchers, and the serialized, Old Man and Sea by Ernest Hemingway. These were later made into movies.

While in high school I considered becoming a novelist but was discouraged by one instructor and then encouraged by another. Still, when I slipped that blank sheet into the typewriter, it mocked me. Without realizing it I became a devotee of “you can’t fail if you don’t try” thinking. At Cal State Fresno there were no fiction writing classes. So when I was reminded that a novel takes at least a year to complete, I gave up the dream. I briefly studied agriculture before changing my major to accounting.

I spent my college summers working as a waitress at Bass Lake. That’s where I met this really sexy, movie star handsome Madera County deputy sheriff. Sigh, it’s hard to resist a man in uniform.

Shortly before Ray and I married we joined my parents for a Labor Day bonanza of fishing with guides in small aluminum boats, using light tackle, in the mouth of the Klamath River. Since I began writing Romance I’ve used locations along the river for three novellas. As a result of that exceptional trip we explored up-river fishing. This experience fleshed out the novella, A Lesson in Love.

Ray and I were married the December I graduated from college. While I started my career in accounting, he pursued his studies in engineering. After he graduated we relocated to California’s Silicon Valley, where our two children were born.

We made several moves, ultimately purchasing a small hardware store in Oakhurst in the Sierra foothills. When you’re self-employed, you have very little time for vacations. I picked up this tied-to-the-business theme in my recently completed, romantic suspense novel, Appointment with Danger. A few years later, tired of accounting and discouraged with my chosen profession after the Enron disgrace, I retired my spreadsheets. Now, I refer to myself as a recovering accountant.

In 2002 I began to write crime fiction. I sharpened my skills by attending writer’s conferences, taking intensive workshops and writing classes, studying numerous books on the subject, and participating in critique groups. I joined Sisters in Crime and attended meetings at the San Joaquin (Fresno) Chapter. After a couple years I volunteered to write a conference column as well as a few articles which appeared in their monthly newsletter, The Poisoned Pen. For three years I had great fun researching conferences, learning that I could meet writing deadlines as easily as I met those in accounting. It was even better, because writing is a joy.

When I started my first novel I expected it to be a short story. A short story of 500 pages? I think not. So I edited and polished it to about 300 pages. Once finished I wrote some shorter pieces, five thousand words or less: mystery, romance, adventure, as well as literary. Several have won or placed in writing contests, notably, First Place in it’s category and Best of Show for the short mystery, The Playhouse, at the 2006 Yosemite Writer’s Conference. My unpublished crime novel of today’s U. S. Marshals, Deadly Harvest, placed fifth in the 2007 Idaho Conference, Murder in The Grove. Noting the feedback, I edited and revised it again. My literary short story, Choices, was accepted as a part of Valley Writers Read on Valley Public Radio, FM 89.3—read on Feb. 17, 2010. I’ll be submitting another this year.

My memory of the Klamath River pulled at me while I wrote Deadly Harvest (the first in the Marshal’s Star series) so in October 2003, we made the trip and encountered few changes. The isolated cabin I remembered, positioned on a tall island upriver, had survived the occasional flood. During the week we were there I started a novel that takes place on and around the river. It’s still unfinished, but set to become part of a Klamath River romance trilogy.

In 2004 I secured a summer position with the U. S. Forest Service. My first posting was at Clover Meadow, a high Sierra office at a trailhead into the Ansel Adams Wilderness where, among other duties, I issued wilderness permits. I loved it there but the position wasn’t funded in 2005, so when I was offered a job in the North Fork office making wilderness reservations as well as issuing permits, I took it.

After several years my position once again went away, this time because my supervisor retired and my duties were parceled out to other staff members. Devastated, tears came to my eyes when I realized I now had more time to write. I’m currently working on a novel based on my experiences while employed by the U.S.D.A. Forest Service. Ah, ha, make the mistake of doing away with my job, will you. It’s a little bit of an expose and lots of fun.

My experience with the Sierra National Forest also inspired two short stories: Smoking is Hazardous to Your Health (about a pot farm in the forest that goes up in flames) and Chrome Cowboy (a native tracker who rides a motorcycle instead of a horse). Additionally, the high Sierras are the setting for two novels in my soft-boiled crime series, The Marshal’s Star.

Since all my crime novels included a love story I decided to try my hand at writing Romance. To that end I joined the Yosemite Romance Writers as well as National Romance Writer’s of America. Rubbing elbows with published authors, growing confident from their encouragement, talking to them about the realities of publishing, and now gaining RWA’s “PRO” status is heartening.

Realizing that I wanted my writing to be taken seriously I determined to have a website. In doing so I stepped out of the box—most writers who have sites are published—and designed my “Pre-published author’s” website.

Being an author, even unpublished, has opened up a new world for me. I’ve traveled to conferences as far away as Boston, visited and revisited sites for my novels, and met people I’d never have believed would want to talk to me. Because my crime writing is about the U.S. Marshals I’ve visited their offices in the states where my stories are set. In Ohio I was given a tour by a deputy marshal. In Hawaii I met with the Marshal—the big Kahuna—himself. Quite a feat for formerly shy Judy. Pictures of myself at those locations are ready for the back of my books. A trip to Yosemite for my author picture is planned for this spring.

I live with my husband, that good-looking deputy who is my soul mate, near Yosemite National Park. With several novels polished and complete, I’m querying agents and small publishers while I continue to write. If you’d like to read some of my award-winning short stories you may visit me at www.judithagallardo.com.

Growing up (tomboy) in the Midwest was a good experience. My younger years were spent exploring my grandparent’s farm, which I enjoyed very much. Being an only child my imagination was my best friend and the farm offered a multitude of creative outlets.

In those years I was in love with the pencil and tablet.  I received a 25 cent allowance each week and always it was spent on the purchase of receipt books (the kind with carbon paper) and pencils of many colors.  I also spent hours cutting out pictures from catalogs, pasting them into a notebook.  I’d find my house, my new husband, my luggage for a trip, my dishes, clothing and even my baby.  This notebook became my dream world.

By the time I was in junior high school, we’d moved to the city—well, really a bedroom community to Kansas City. Those years were pretty typical. There was the once-a-month skating party and the Saturday afternoon Teen-Town (dance) at the community center, where my parents usually acted as chaperon. Ugh! I learned to play the guitar; my folks said no to the drums. I found my first love, Buzz Brown, and of course, had my first heartbreak.

It was at about this time that my little written stories (previously about my dad’s coon hounds; finding the big dipper in the sky; and Roy Rogers), turned to love and romance.  I wrote stories about secret kisses at the locker between classes and concealed handholding walking down the hall to class. My hero’s name was Johnny Marsh. In every story I constructed it was Johnny who made my heart sing.

I knew then I wanted to be a writer, although I wasn’t really sure just what that was. I had no clue how written material found its way into print inside a magazine, or what magic formed a book you could purchase. Of course, having “practical” parents, it was not so much that they discouraged my writing, but rather it was made clear I could never hope to earn a living that way. I was strongly encouraged to study hard, get a good education so I might find a “real” job, then if there was any time left for writing—I could do so. Being the dutiful daughter, I did as I was told…always regretting that I didn’t follow my dream to see where it might take me.

I married young, followed my Navy husband to California, was divorced a year later, and moved on. I re-married, had children (2 sons), and opened my heart to a couple of foster kids. One of them remained in my life giving me 4 beautiful grandchildren.  My sons gave me three more, and one grandson has blessed me with two great-grandkids.  Life is good!

During those years of raising kids and working, my writing began to take a back seat. The stress of life simply left no creative flow from pen to paper. The years passed with nary a word written.

Once the kids were grown and on their own, my husband and I moved back to Missouri intending to enter into a business venture with my father. However, his sudden illness prevented that from taking place…but we were already there, so we stayed. It was during this time I actually began and finished a novel.

I submitted Desires of the Heart to Leslie Wanger at Harlequin. In an unprecedented move, she forwarded my manuscript to Debra Matucci, the editor of a line were Leslie felt my story was a better fit.  This transfer from one editor to another was against the rules then, just as it is now. The fact that rule was broken on my behalf should have been my first clue that my novel was “close” to target. I received a personal letter from Debra telling me that while she loved the story, there was one scene she didn’t find believable. (The one where my heroine refused to tell the police who attacked her—and she knew.)

Now, if I was to receive such a rejection letter today, you can bet I’d be doing the re-write of that scene as fast as my fingers could move over the keyboard.  It was, in fact a crack in the door to publication…but I was too naïve to realize it at the time.  You see, I felt the scene was perfectly believable. My heroine wasn’t going to tell anyone the guys name until she could warn her rodeo cowboy (ex-boyfriend) since his life had been threatened if she revealed the identity of her attacker.  I thought, “Hey if Harlequin doesn’t get it, another publisher will.” Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Missed opportunity. That MS is still sitting in a drawer someplace and most likely too outdated to salvage.

I did manage to get my first sale during this period in Missouri though; a short story entitled, Aunt Lynn’s Magic.  It was purchased by a small, 4-state circulation called Creative Reader. When I received my check for $11.00 I was on top of the world—flying high.

Again life brought me back to California. I got a job in the business end of the medical field and the dream of being a writer died. I was almost happy about the funeral, like it was time to put the fading dream in the cellar…and I did, never giving much, if any, thought to writing again.

Then in 1994 my hubby and I moved to the mountains near Yosemite and Bass Lake. The beauty here is inspiring and the energy seem to stir those long dormant creative juices. I had a writer friend who also lived in the area and we decided to try our hand at co-writing, thinking this might not take as long to complete a work, since we both worked. We were a terrific team. Over the next few years we wrote and sold 12 short stories. During this time I also sold 3 more shorts that I alone had written.  This co-author union worked flawlessly, until we just both got burned out.

About five years ago, I decided to offer Creative Writing Classes for local beginners. I certainly didn’t know everything—didn’t have all the answers, but I felt I could offer something of value to a writer just starting out. Within a few weeks I had two different group classes going, as well as 3 private students. Needless to say, this kept me busy boning up on craft and industry trends. It also began to spark a new interest within my heart for writing.

Last December, I ended all my classes, with the exception of an occasional one-on-one student. I decided it is now or never for my own writing endeavor. Of course, being the type of person I am, once the fire was lit I had four or five projects on-going.  Maybe that was a throwback from years of multi-tasking? I’ve settle down a little, and actually have one novel, Like There’s No Tomorrow in the final edit stage, with the goal to have it ready for submission by the end of July or August this year. I just started a historical set in 1871, which demanded to be written. My intent is to have it completed by year-end and ready to submit mid 2013.

Well, this has been my journey. For the past 32 years I’ve been so blessed to have my husband, Bob at my side. He’s completely supportive not only about my writing activities, but with anything I find a desire to venture into, even though he might shake his head in wonder as to why I think I need to.  He’s always there for me. He truly is a one-in-a-million!

Sunny Marie Baker

Hope this post finds you comfy, cozy, and maybe cuddled up with a cup of coffee for another installment of YRW’s “Get To Know You” blog series. This week’s candidate for dissection–oops!–I meant discussion is none other than ME and I shall endeavor to make my seemingly normal life sound completely and utterly exciting. Better get your waders on because we’re gonna be rolling it deep, my friends!

Lest we’ve not had the pleasure of meeting, I’m Sarah Simas. I donned the mantle of ‘aspiring author’ back in 2008 and never looked back. My day job is one of profound glitz and glamour as I’m a stay-at-home mom to three wonderful and often crazed kiddos ages six, almost five, and fourteen months. When I’m not changing diapers or driving my “bosses” to and fro from hither and yon, I can be found hunched over a stove or elbow deep in dishwater. My days seem to blend together in a whirlwind of screaming, crying, and some food throwing–most of which are all done by me . . .

How June Cleaver stayed so fashionably coiffed is simply beyond me! I’m forever sporting grubby handprints on my yoga pants (which are kind of misleading as I’ve never done yoga, but merely appreciate how the lyrca components slim down what would otherwise appear rather ’plump-ish’) and often resort to a ponytail because I’ve managed to forget how to do my hair. All semblance of complaining aside, I wouldn’t change my whacked out lifestyle for anything. Before I was Mama, I was the lead foreman in the Quality Control lab at local cheese plant. For three years post college, I lived the fast-paced life of a career-oriented woman until one day the little test stick had two lines. Talk about a priority change!

Six years later, I still don’t regret trading in my helmet and hairnet (and adult conversation!) for an apron and a never-ending pile of laundry. When I’m not chasing kiddos around, I’m hard at work finishing my first manuscript, a Regency era romance. Historical novels have always been my favorite. Some of the authors who have helped shaped my tastes are Julie Garwood and Johanna Lindsey. If I’m in the mood for something with a bite, I tend to grab a Sherilyn Kenyon or a Charlaine Harris, but otherwise, my shelves are jammed packed with lusty lords and luscious ladies.

I operate a blog geared toward the aspiring writer called, The Lovestruck Novice. During the last three years, I’ve interviewed well over one hundred and fifty authors. My approach to an interview or author guest blog is to glean as much information as possible. Some might call it being nosy (my hubby, for example ), but I’m the sort of gal who likes to devour knowledge and what better way to learn than getting tips from the pros?!

When authors often talk about the ‘ones-who-let-real -life-get-in-the-way‘ they’re essentially nit-picking me. I’ve been chomping at the bit to finish my manuscript for almost four years. One of my main set-backs is the fact I want perfection . . . hence three partial drafts and a complete plot change. *le sigh!* On the bright side, however, I’ve managed a second place win in the 2011 Spring Into Romance Contest and a third place win in the 2009 Golden Gateway Contest. (But, let’s not dive into the topic of contests just yet! That’s a can of worms possessing a finely honed, double-edged lid!)

So, what’s changed? What have I learned from the hard knocks? Well, I’ve gained a profound understanding of my abilities and limitations. I’ve set a realistic goal of finishing my book to pitch at RWA Nationals this summer and entering said manuscript in the Golden Heart this fall. While I’m thoroughly twitterpaited over attending the conference, I’d like to think I still have one foot rooted in reality. I know the road to publication is fraught with mountains and valleys, but it’s a journey I won’t soon quit. Finding YRW and all the lovely writers therein has been a blessing. I’m very proud to be a member and look forward to growing and prospering with my fellow chaptermates! Together, we can accomplish anything!