I've always written; mostly poetry and short stories, but I wrote. I loved writing so much, I actually got a degree in English Lit/Creative Writing but I wasn't sure what to do with it. Ended up working in the technical field for a few years. Eventually I went with my second degree in Interior Design to keep my busy, but I never stopped reading or writing.
In 2003 I gave birth to my daugher (already had a 2 year old boy). Now I had no job and two babies to take care of. Needless to say I'd been defined as a mother and I wasn't convinced. I felt I needed to go back to work. So in 2004, I tried to re-enter the workforce. But with technical, you have to stay on top of the game. I hadn't. Came close a couple of times, but it looked like I was going to have to learn how to be a stay-at-home mom and take interior design jobs as they came along.
So one day in 2004 while my son took a nap and my daughter squirmed in my lap, I flipped through channels and settled on one of my favorite movies - City of Angels. At the end I boo-hooed as usual. But something hung with me that time - why did he love her? Why did he give up everything for a chance? It's a beautiful concept and it intrigued me. Thus the birth of my novel BREATHE.
So I stole the angel from the movie and created a reason why he loved her and why she loved him. Of course the only similarity is the angel thing. I wrote the rough draft in three weeks - mostly early in the morning and in the middle of the night - all 165,000 words. I lived, breathed, and ate these characters. I listened to them and wrote their story like I was watching a movie. I fell in love with their words to each other. I fell in love with their voice. I pratically wrote in a trance.
But what I couldn't understand is where this story even came from. I wasn't a reader of fantasy. The only paranormal books I'd ever read were Anne Rice novels. I certainly wasn't a romance fan. And to top it off, I wasn't even aware a catagory called Young Adult even existed. (Harry Potter was children's to me). I was baffled by the whole experience.
Now I'd never written a full length novel before and 550 pages didn't intimidate me when I read novels, so I didn't think about it being too long. But after doing a little research - I realized this novel needed major work. I decided to tackle it - I wanted to share Breandan and Taylor's story. For the first time, I thought about it being published.
I started editing, but a few long-term family crisises occured and I had to shelve my dream for awhile. By the time everything settled down again, I'd pratically given up on finishing BREATHE.
But it nagged at me. I kept looking at the printout laying on the shelf in my office. It kept saying, "Pick me up." So in 2009 I did. I worked on it when I could, finally tightening the novel to around 90,000 words. I miss some of the more descriptive elements I elimated, but something had to go.
So now BREATHE is finished. I'll have to see if another chapter in it's life is around the corner. As I wait to see if BREATHE will be released to the public, I've started working on the sequel while always coming up with new ideas for other novels. This is my love - I finally found out what I wanted to be when I grow up. I want to be a writer.
