PURSUING MY PASSION
After graduating from Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio, where I intended to major in English but switched to Psychology at the end of my first year, I worked in the nonprofit sector before enrolling at the University of Buffalo School of Law. I practiced real estate law for a hot second before becoming a stay-at-home mom. My husband and I were blessed with two daughters and one son, all of whom are grown and doing their own thing.
Many of my earlier career goals took a back seat to raising our family, but empty nesting (and a flexible consulting business) has allowed me to revisit a longstanding dream… becoming a published novelist.
As a chronic overthinker, I’ve spent too much time deliberating whether I have enough time or talent to dedicate myself to something I’ve pondered for as long as I can remember. I finally swallowed my self-doubt and wrote a rough draft of my first manuscript. The satisfaction I felt after hitting that milestone has carried me through two more unpublished novels, hundreds of rejections from literary agents, and bottomless disappointment over whether I’ll ever see my dreams come to fruition.
However, disappointment can breed motivation and strength. I’m committed to becoming the best writer I can be—learning through workshops, critique partners, networking with other authors, and reading as much as possible. My story cannot be one of defeat. It has the potential to serve as an example of how hard work and perseverance can eventually reap reward.
I’m currently querying my fourth novel, OUT OF THE CRASH, a work of women’s fiction exploring the complicated and surprising aftermath of a fatal hit-and-run. I hope this is “the one.” The story that finally garners attention from the publishing industry and enables me to flip the switch from “unpublished” to “published.” Pinch me if that happens. And if it doesn’t, that’s okay too. My inner English major has reemerged, and it’s too late to turn back now.
