My Story

 My writing story began in Sophomore English, 1984. That year was devoted to creative writing, and I loved it. I also had a wonderful teacher that loved what I wrote and was very encouraging. Mrs Rutland was actually a substitute teacher that year, filling in for Mrs Whatshername while she was out having a baby or something. I really don’t remember. But, Mrs Rutland made an impact on me by her words of encouragement. I have thought deep down about being a writer ever since.

Through the years I started several books, took lots of notes with specific details of those stories but never got very far. It was, however, very therapeutic during the most trying times of my life. In the end I guess the timing was just not right.

Fast forward to 2013. I had just gotten a divorce. It was awful. I took off on the road. I worked as a travel nurse in Georgia before packing up and moving to Puyallup, Washington for the summer. The experience changed my life forever. By 2016 I had a house in LaGrange, Georgia but I was never home. So I did what I had dreamed of since the first time I saw Easy Rider on late night TV, I sold my house and rode my bike all summer. I was on the road seventy five days, I visited fourteen U.S. national parks, five Canadian national parks, went to Sturgis for bike week, caught a show at Red Rocks and one at the Ryman Auditorium and had the best summer ever. But more importantly for the writer in me, I met a man on a mountain top in Wyoming who encouraged me to write.

Frosty Wooldridge had been a writer for years. In fact, besides writing quite a few books, he had also written articles for just about every motorcycle and bicycle magazine on the market. He approached me at a scenic overlook at nearly 10,000 feet when he saw my tag from Ga. He grew up in Ga in a small town not far from the Florida line. When he told me he was a writer, I told him I had always thought of writing a book. He said, “You should! If you write a page a day for a year, you’ll have a pretty good book by the time you finish.”

So I began to think about writing again. I picked up a note pad and pen from a truck stop along the way and began outlining my book. Only, it wasn’t the book I always thought I would write. (The one with copious notes in a drawer back home waiting to be turned into the next great American novel. And of course, next summer’s blockbuster movie hit!) No, I started writing about the trip I was taking on my motorcycle. By the time I made it home I had around 45,000 words written. That piece of work is now out for purchase as of April 10, 2023.

I can’t teach you to write. I do not have a terrific grasp on grammar, (it just seems so arbitrary) and I have a limited vocabulary. (Swear words excluded) What I can do is encourage you the way I have been encouraged in my life. It doesn’t matter if we have been friends for years or total strangers, If you have the desire to write, I want to let you know you can do it! And if you have no desire to write, that’s ok. Life principles stretch across every aspect of our life. I intend to post a lot that has nothing whatsoever to do with writing. I have a lot of interests and I’m sure I will touch on every one. So sign up for my weekly (or so) newsletter for your dose of encouragement.