Whether with poetry through high school and college, or with short stories as a child, writing has always been a release for me.  Choosing a career as an art teacher is supposed to mean I’m an artist, right?  My expression should come out in color and images, my thoughts should flow freely on a canvas.  When I was a little girl, I always knew I would grow up to write and illustrate a children’s book.  As I got older, the ideas for the books came easily.  I have written them all down.  However I was surprised to find that what held me back were the illustrations.  The words flowed with ease, yet the pictures, even with my career in art, were the hardest to extract.  I have come to realize I find my solace in words; my expression is inspired through text.  I am moved by the beauty of a great set of lyrics in a piece of music, or small words strung together to form a sentence that creates endless images in your mind.  It is words; the way they weave in, out, and around each other that send goose bumps up and down my arms, shivers of delight up my spine, or bring tears to my eyes.

 I awoke one morning in September of 2009 with a literal cast of characters swimming in my mind.  It was as though the muse had struck, and I had no other choice but to follow their lead and get every thought down as fast as possible.  The concept for Open Window: Truth from the Shadows seemed to fall from my head, and the words flowed freely.  My busy life as a mother, a teacher, a wife, and graduate student occupied much of my time, but I found quiet in the late hours of the night to sit and let the story take me away.  I initially started to write for my own personal enjoyment; it was such a fun process!  But after sharing it with a friend on a whim, her feedback made me believe maybe I could do something with this and others may like it too.  So I took a chance, and here I am now, getting ready to put it all out there.  I’m nervous.  I’m anxious.  But I’m so ready to share it with all of you and hope you enjoy it as much as I have!