For Readers | Who Am I?

 

Who am I? That's a good question. Like most people, I am actually many people.

I am a woman, a mother, a wife, a daughter, and a sister. I was born in 1960 in Washington Pennsylvania. When I was 17, I moved to Arizona, where I met my first husband, the father of Alexandra, my teenaged daughter. I also have two grown step-children, Martin and Katharine. I have been married to Steve, my second husband, since 1993; he is the father of those two. My mother is Marcella. She and my sister Connie live in Arizona. My brother lives in Texas.

I am a writer, a teacher, and a lawyer. I write fiction and nonfiction. I teach fiction writing in live workshops and via the Internet. I taught legal writing at the University of Denver College of Law, but gave that up to focus on my writing (and to move to Nevada!). When I began full-time teaching, I stopped practicing law. I maintain my license in inactive status, but I do feel I have found my avocation in writing and teaching, and don't have any desire to return to the practice of law.

I am a student. I am constantly trying to learn more about the craft of writing, so I attend a lot of workshops and do a lot of reading on the craft of writing. I am also constantly trying to learn more about the craft of teaching. I am particularly interested in distance education, especially as it relates to teaching writing.

A little known fact about me -- I was a high school drop out. Alas, I can't offer an inspiring story of triumph over drugs or a teenage pregnancy -- the truth is I was horribly shy (no, really, it's true) and just hated high school. So I took my GED as soon as I could, and then went to college. I loved college. I finished in 3 1/2 years with a ridiculous number of credits more than I needed to graduate. I went to Arizona State University, receiving a scholarship for every semester after my first. I viewed college like a huge smorgasbord, and pretty much gorged myself on the course offerings. I took everything they'd let me take! (Okay -- so maybe this paragraph should have started with, I am a geek.)

I am a pet owner - or at least, animals live with me. My basset hound is named Buffy. The three of the cats who live here are actually my daughter's -- KittenKat, a black and white, short haired scaredy cat, is a venerable 14 years old. Two years younger is Katya, with long black hair and short temper. Mac (Duncan MacBadcat), a grey mackeral tabby, is 6 years old. All of our mammal pets are from shelters.

I am a citizen of the USA, and a citizen of Nevada. I live in a city called Henderson. I grew up in Washington, Pennsylvania, which is a coal and steel town about 20 miles southwest of Pittsburgh. My mother and I moved to Arizona when I was 17, which is how I ended up at Arizona State University. I moved to Colorado with my first husband, and lived there until 2004. (By Colorado standards, that is very close to being a native!) In 2004,I moved to Nevada.

I have a messy house, with a messy yard, and a terrific herb garden. I don't do housework. Period. Yard work, I do entirely out of guilt - the neighbors can't see inside the house, but they can see the yard. I can't grow flowers all that well. My roses, in particular, look scraggly. And I must be the only person in the world whose zucchini plants are poor producers. Even though the house has a glass room filled with light, houseplants would die but for my husband's intervention.

But for some reason, I do have a flair for herbs. I have a few kinds of mint, catnap for the kitties, chives, oregano, 2 kinds of sage, thyme, basil, tarragon, and coriander, plus bee balm, lemon balm, lavender, and more. The cats eat the catnip at will ( we have happy cats!), and I give a lot to my cat loving friends. I also tend to give away a lot of the cooking herbs, because we can't cook enough to use them up. And sometimes, I make herbal spa items with the other herbs. Lavender salt scrub is my favorite.
I spend my days teaching, writing, spending a bit too much time on the Internet (not that you know anything about that, right?), reading, being with my family, and just hanging out.

How about you?

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