My story starts with a bridge over a creek, an empty notebook, and a childhood of magic!
In grade school, I started collecting antique fairy tale books. I soon began thinking of my own tales. In the summers, I sat on the bridge across the creek that ran through my backyard. With my notebook in hand, I started writing my story.
People have said I have this habit of getting lost in the clouds. I am guilty of daydreaming about hidden cottages in the thick woods behind my house and the mischievous goblins who hang out under the bridge of a nearby creek. While walking in the forest, I still often look for fairies hiding amongst the wildflowers, and I wish to come across the witch’s house right off my path. Not having come across any of these things yet, I turn to pen and paper to create my fairy tale stories.
When I’m not writing about her hometown and witches, I write daily devotionals for families.
Using my own experiences, I create my stories of faith. I wrote my first book, The Invisible Line, for fellow police wives. The Police Wives of America organization supports this devotional. I also write devotionals about overcoming obstacles and letting go of fear.
Reality does sometimes seep into my everyday life, however. Being the wife of a retired police officer, I relied heavily on my faith during the twenty-six years of being on duty as an LEO wife. Raising two sons in that lifestyle was no easy feat, but our faith in God gave my husband and me the strength to guide them into adulthood. My devotional stories document both experiences as a police wife and mother to two children.
Living with an autoimmune disease, I left my teaching job behind and focused on writing full-time.
In the process, I learned to appreciate the little things even more….. like hunting for fairy doors in the woods and stopping to smell the wildflowers along the way.
So, you’re asking yourself, what am I supposed to do with this information?
Well, if you, too, find yourself missing the magic of childhood, you will most certainly identify with the Resident Witch Series—a modern-day spin on the fairy tale witch. And if you’re frustrated along life’s path and feel you are just keeping your head above water in an ocean, all by yourself, I hope that my devotional stories will help you realize you are never alone in life! My story is for everyone.
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You are never alone along this crazy path in life! Whether looking for fairies or surviving a stressful job, join me in finding the magic every day!
~A.
Frequently Asked — Now Answered
Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
Not usually in my devotionals, BUT I do such a thing in the Resident Witch series. If you’re familiar with my hometown of Beaver, PA then I think you’ll notice some shops and places.
How do you select the names of your characters?
I keep a list of favorite names I come across in everyday life, but I also keep a baby name book on my desk. I tend to flip through it when I need inspiration with a new character.
As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot?
That’s pretty easy– I’ve always been drawn to the dragonfly. Hence, the title The Diary of a Dragonfly. However, I would be remiss if I did not say that my mascot is my writing partner, Berkley. He’s my 80-pound puppy who inspired the character Bentley in Tea Leaves and Trouble!
What literary trips have you gone on?
I toured Ernest Hemingway’s Key West home twice, wishing I could write for a moment in his treetop writing room each time. My husband kindly visited the Parisian cafe where Hemingway wrote The Moveable Feast, and he had his photo taken on Ernest’s favorite stool since I couldn’t join him. I’ve also seen Walt Whitman’s home and plan on heading to Salem to visit Nathaniel Hawthorne’s house, stopping in Tarrytown to see Washington Irving’s Sunnyside home.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Keep growing your imagination! Write about princesses, trolls, and witches. Create worlds and universes!