I started reading when I was 4 years old and was never happier than with my nose in a book. At twelve I read Wuthering Heights over and over and was inspired then to want to write fiction that would transport readers to another time and place. I honed my writing style writing stories about my own life during my teens and twenties but threw out all those stories when I figured out what messages I wanted to convey with my writing in my thirites, so have been writing modern mythical fiction about very real people and problems for thirty years. I was also an attorney (a voice) for indigent clients and the fiction is just another way to give voice to people most ignored and unheard in society. 

Often a runner up (or finalist) but never a winner so stopped entering contests. My "certifications" I guess would be my degrees: BA in Psych from U of Md. and JD from DULaw School. Accomplishments are modest, winning some trials and helping some folks. Making it up to a high mtn pass or alpine lake feels like an accomplishment and I've done that a few times, recovering from cancer and chemo could be considered an
accomplishment and I've done that. Basic stuff.