"I'm passionate about the power of storytelling. I just love to watch people. I like to imagine where they've been, where they might be going next," admits the Kirkwood resident. "I love listening to how people relate to one another and move themselves through their circumstances. I always start my stories by developing characters first and the stories seem to unfold."

We can believe that women must have autonomy over our bodies, and acknowledge their choices are neither easy, nor are they made with equal parts logic, necessity, emotion or fairness. I try to keep that in mind when I have the opportunity to connect with someone who doesn’t share my views. Somewhere, in that gray area, is where we can feel around for and find our shared humanity.

When I initially put pencil to paper for my first novel, God Bless the Child, it really was a primitive operation. Armed with a stack of yellow legal pads, two or three sharpened pencils, and roughly six miraculous hours of freedom each week, I started pushing out a story that took 18 years to publish, but I think this book and I needed that time together. We’ve both grown and changed. We are ready.

The women in God Bless the Child have been tangled up in knots since I first created them nearly two decades ago. Bringing them back out into the light for a fresh look with older eyes and a wiser heart has led even their creator to marvel and wince anew at the raw ferocity that motherhood represents. Whether it comes about naturally, by human design, and even when it leaves a gaping, unanswered void, the mother/daughter sphere offers much to explore.

As adults, we spend a lot of time and energy pondering, even agonizing about this role, but it is important to give just as much space and grace to how it is experienced by children, who land in this world not choosing their place in it. The circumstances we come swaddled in upon entry are random, even capricious. If we are fortunate enough to become adults who are blessed to have choices, it is essential that we acknowledge the consequences our decisions can have on children who are powerless.

Consuming one story after another has long been something I associate with joy. It wasn’t until I was in high school that I discovered something even more thrilling…This discovery caught me by surprise; it changed my life and simply would not have happened without the two incredible teachers who helped me see the stories swirling around me, waiting for me to be their teller.

I am closer to 60 than 50, and my nest isn’t exactly empty but getting a little roomier. Not long ago, I made a conscious decision to just stop fretting about my graying hair. And one of my lifelong dreams is finally coming true. I’m here for it in ways both big and small. Despite the long wait, I feel more prepared than ever to accept what the universe, some good contacts, and a dash of good fortune has made possible: my first novel is being published.

A few months ago, a photographer friend came to my house to take some high-quality shots of yours truly. I generally loathe having my photo taken and loathe even more looking at those photos. More often than not, what I think I’m projecting to the world doesn’t quite square with what has been captured with angles and light. It’s humbling.