A little about me.

I have to admit I'm somewhat apprehensive about starting this blog. I feel totally exposed and vunerable; I hate that. I was taught at a very young age that I needed to conceal a lot of my emotions. My father--who I loved dearly--was an old cowboy. He was a wonderful, compassionate, man, but believed that showing a lot of emotions made you appear weak. I was definitely "daddies little girl," and what he said was "gospel."

I grew up in a rural Texas town named Rosebud. As a child, I thought that it was a terrible place to live. Not unlike the fictional town of "Mayberry," everyone knew each other and was constantly in someone's business. Quite often, my parents knew what mischief I had gotten into before I got.

As an adult, I can look back on those times with fondness. It was those same people that were always there for each other when tragedy occurred. I live in a town ten times the size of Rosebud, and I have to admit that I miss that "small town" hospitality. Don't get me wrong, people here are friendly, but they're too preoccupied with their own affairs. In other words, don't expect a casserole brought to your house by a loving neighbor if something happens to you; they just don't have time.

Anyway, I digress. I spent seven years as a deputy sheriff, and hated it for five of those years. You literally deal with the scum of the earth every day. Your heart begins to harden when you deal with that constantly. After getting shot at, stabbed, and threw up on by drunks, I decided to hang up the old gun belt and pursue other interests. One positive thing that happened while I a deputy was that I met my future husband. We've been together 15 years, married 13, and have two very mischievous boys. I am also the proud "mama" of two cats and 15 horses.

Here's an excerpt from my website, http://www.freewebs.com/onthefrontporch that explains me a little more.

Throughout all the trying times in my life, writing has been a comfort for me. Ever since I can remember, I have loved to write. It has, in a sense, allowed me to "escape" from the stress that was on me. My parents began instilling a strong sense of morals and a strong work ethic in me at a very young age. My earliest memories are ones of kneeling beside my grandmother in her garden and sifting through the dry powder-like dirt, searching for potatoes. I have had various paying jobs ever since I was sixteen, but none as rewarding and gratifying as writing.I started my career in writing a couple of years ago by submitting articles to non-paying newsletters and websites. As my passion in writing is increasing, I have ventured out into different genres.


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(Taken at Mustang Island Beach)

Sometimes inspiration jumps up and hits you in the face. A few weeks ago I traveled with my hubby and boys to the beach. We went to Mustang Island, just a few miles away from Port Author, Texas. Mustang Island is not very popular with the surfing crowd, so there wasn't many people on the beach. The closest person on either side of us was about a mile away; there was plenty of wildlife though. It was fabulous!

Having a toddler has granted me the ability to occasionally see life through his eyes. I watched as he ran after sea gulls, and followed tiny sand crabs down the beach. He "oohed and ahhed" over the empty coquina clam shells that we found on the beach. We even witnessed a coquina clam burying itself into the sand.

My toddler and his experiences prompted me to write an early reader about the beach. I, along with the help of a marine biologist, finished the book last week. I'm sending it off on Monday . Keep your fingers crossed for me!