You'll be glad you did.
I'm 48 years old and I was born in Sanford, Florida. When I was a year old, my parents moved to a small nine-acre farm in the rural outskirts of Tampa. I grew up the oldest of five children with a strong work ethic. My childhood was spent milking a cow, shoveling manure, and working in a large garden--not to mention changing lots of my brothers and sisters dirty diapers!
In 1979 I graduated from Jefferson High School and that fall married my husband, Alan. We have been together ever since; this year we will celebrate our 30th anniversary. We presently live in Palm Harbor with five parrots and one Maine Coon cat.Although I was a voracious reader as a child (I read Gone With the Wind when I was ten years old, with a dictionary by my side to help me understand it!) and I had definite artistic ability, both in drawing and writing, artistic fields were discouraged by my mother, who didn't feel it was a 'real' job. Therefore, I took extensive clerical classes in high school, and became a very proficient typist. For the next five or six years after graduation, I worked in offices, but was often restless and bored. In 1981, fed up with being chained to a desk for $6.00 an hour, I started my own cleaning business. For the next 27 years I cleaned both residential and commercial, often working for millionaires due to my high standards. At last the physical labor took its toll, and I decided to retire.
I had given writing serious attention and penned my first novel, Crawford County, around 2005. I had previously written many short stories, all rejected by mainstream magazines and journals, and disgusted with the publishing industry that has a tendency to churn out cookie cutter writing, I decided to learn how to make books and market my own work. My first published book is currently available in my store, entitled Fabricated Family--A Comedy of Victorian Biographies.
The book is sharp, witty, with double wordplay and definitely NOT mainstream. Is it marketable by current publishing industry standards?
I've never submitted any of my work to an agent, so that remains to be seen. Although the reading public seems hesitant to purchase a hardcover book put together by a writer that is not only the creator, editor, and bookbinder, the books and stories I've sold have met with an unwaveringly positive response. I am presently polishing and refining my novel, with the goal of copywriting it and releasing it to the public (in my store) within the next year. I enjoy complete creative control, a rarity for mainstream, professionally published writers. Perhaps I may eventually submit my work to an agent, but for now, I'm content to enjoy my freedom and make people laugh.
While I am primarily a writer, I also love vintage and antique items, and so my store carries vintage jewelry, china, and crystal.
I am restlessly creative, with a need to learn and create new things, so making my own books may not be the only handmade items in my store. I am already exploring the idea of making dolls and I am presently working on another comic story, entitled "Angels of Assisi Asylum", based on the photograph used in my Etsy avatar.FabricatedFamily
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6449096
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