I decided to be a writer when I was 16. I was influenced by several high school English teachers who probably wished they were authors instead of stable-income school teachers, with most summers off to write.

Not understanding how risky life was, I took the leap. But I didn’t get far. I learned that college is where a writer can train and prove yourself as a writer. That’s where you get certified and make connections with the writing and publishing community. But I couldn’t afford college. It didn’t matter! I was bitten by the bug.

Growing up in Ohio in the 1960s on a farm, I would make the drive into town to buy a monthly copy of Writer’s Digest.  It was where I got the best training on how to write for newsletters and magazines. Years later, when I finally got office jobs, and some kind of paycheck, I signed up for real writing classes.

Over the years, I made a little money writing articles and brochures, but my writing –creative and non-fiction, was mostly published in newsletters that existed to support a cause that I believed in.  Going into the 1970s, I wrote for the women’s movement, labor movement and later the environmental movement.  Poetry and article writing were easy, good training and got me some nice compliments.  Then I looked at the real challenge: writing novels.  Could I do it? 40,000 words or more?

Economic downturns can be a challenge, but while collecting unemployment checks and running off to job interviews, I found the time to write my four novels. Being focused on causes, I wrote one about students protesting the war in Vietnam. I wrote one about the union organizing I had done. Another one about tenant organizing to get repairs and finally, one with an environmental theme about a community fighting to protect their park.  

As an independent self-published author, I sold only a few copies of each book. The whole “sell your books” process was not what I wanted to do. To be honest, I loved writing the novels, well actually, novelettes.  I struggled to get up to 40,000 words in one of them. Marketing requires a different set of skills. It helps if you’re the outgoing type who loves to spend time with strangers chitchatting.

Yet it was good for me to write my novels. They gave me the chance to reflect on and analyze my story themes—based on actions I took in real life. Novel writing gave me a sense of purpose and accomplishment. Not for fame nor fortune did I write! My novels were written for me--and you and everyone who writes and reads for a cause. Check out my novels as eBooks—quick, cheap and easy to read!