I am originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa and grew up in the midst of story-tellers. I am now from the Bay Area of California, the mother of four children and grandmother to 11. I was once a music and drama student who became an art major and taught art in the San Jose, CA school system for 12 years. When my husband, Denny, retired from the factuly at the University in San Jose, we had ten wonderful years of productive retirement. After he died in 1998,I could not stop writing about the sad,strange and often humorous experiences of being suddenly single at 68 when I had never been single in my life. I married young, barely 19. That writing went on for six years and finally became an IPPY award-winning book, "Dancing in My Nightgown," published by Stephens Press of Las Vegas in 2005. The paperback was released this year, 2007. My speech and drama background made me want to be in front of an audience again and that's how I became a speaker mostly for women's groups and organizations. And it's the way I sell my book. I love writing but I love speaking about two molecules more. I am presently working on my second memoir about growing up with my wacky parents who could not stay together no matter how hard they tried. They were married and divorced to and from each other three times trying to make it work. Life during the Depression in Iowa with my particular family was extremely colorful and rivaled any present day sitcom. I look forward to meeting y'all. -- Betty Auchard

After retiring from teaching art, I was a practicing artist for nine years and had my work pubished in several books and periodicals. As a writer I was one of nine women from Santa Clara County to receive the Achievement Award from the Association of American Penwomen. My book also received an IPPY Finalist Award in 2005.