I have always enjoyed creative writing but got an education in technical writing and worked in that area for a number of years. My freshman English teacher in college once told me that I had a talent for writing and that I should always be working on something. Although I haven't exactly followed his advice, I have always remembered and believed his encouraging words. My prose and poetry are in several collections, including Shapato Publishing's Amber Waves of Grain and Walking Beans Wasn't Something You Did With Your Dog. My first children's picture book will be followed by The Night of Many Lights - another Shapato publication - scheduled for an April 2011 release. My anthology, True Cow Tales: Literary Sketches and Stories by Farmers, Ranchers, and Dairy Princesses, contains 40 stories from the U.S. and Canada. I've managed an editorial service company, Boston Road Communications, since 2002.