Welcome ...

I don’t remember a time when I didn’t like to curl up with a good. book. I was still in grade school when I found Harlequin Romances. I lived in a small town in Northern Utah where we had no library, but we had the book mobile. I read every Harlequin they had. I loved the places I could go and the things I could experience through a book. It was like a magic carpet ride.

I have since found authors; Jude Deveraux, Johanna Lindsey, Suzanne Brockmann and many others who write books that are filled with excitement, charming men and women who rise to the challenge. The adventure, suspense and humor whisk me away on a journey full of hills, valleys and tight twists. The heroes make my heart thunder as they tackle every road block in their travels to their happily ever after. The women give me hope that I too can overcome the obstacles in my path to happiness. The interaction of the characters with their families and the people around them make me laugh and at times cry. I am in awe of the many talented writers of the Romance Genres.

I enjoy the ride of a good book, but more than that, I find myself wanting to create my own stories, spin my own tales of adventure and daring. I love the challenge of weaving the story threads together, of letting my characters get into so much trouble none of us know how they are going to get out of it. I anxiously wait to see what will happen next. I’ve been inspired by Sherry Lewis as I have taken writing classes from her and learned the hard work behind the magic, the struggles of hitting the brick wall and having to back up to see where I took the wrong path and lost the truth of the story. She has taught me the painful lessons of perseverance. When the going gets tough, the tough eat chocolate and drink Pepsi, but they never give up.

We are all in different times in our lives, with different challenges to face. When life gets tough a book can transport me somewhere else for an hour, or maybe just five minutes, but it’s a much needed break where I can rejuvenate myself and buoy myself up to handle whatever lays ahead. I want to be able to do that for others. I want to add some laughter to someone’s day, to relieve some emotion through a good cry with a dearly loved character or encourage bravery to get through the next hurdle that lies ahead of them.

I would love to hear from you. How has a book helped you through bad times? What authors do you turn to and why?