I owe my writing career to two people:  good friend Cheryl Cohn and author/instructor Jim Gray.  I had always enjoyed writing and had been told as a child that I "had a flair for it."  But when I received my first magazine rejection at age 17, I naively misinterpreted this author's-rite-of-passage as a "you don't have what it takes, kid" stop sign.  It wasn't until I was twice that age that I decided to revisit writing.  After helping Cheryl compose a business letter, she had remarked, "Wow, you really missed your calling!"  I realized at that moment that I didn't want to look back at my life someday and wonder "what if..." I enrolled in an adult-education writing course taught by Memphis author Jim Grey.  I began writing a short story that Jim believed should be written as a novel, instead.  ", I could never write a novel," I protested.  If only Jim knew the powerful impact of his reply!  Just four little words -- "of course you can" -- changed my life. The short story I was writing?   Far Above Rubies.

While I've received a few laudable writing accomplishments, my greatest achievement has been the opportunity to tutor at the U.S. Naval Academy's Writing Center. When the best and brightest students from all over the world tell you, "Ma'am, thank you so much for your help; it really made a difference," it doesn't get much more rewarding than that.