I am the fourth girl and middle child of seven children. Named after my Uncles, Bill and Gene, I have approached life in the offbeat way I was named, embracing the different and sometimes separate worlds I find myself in.

I graduated from high school in 1969 and after graduation went on to pursue my bachelor's degree from the School of Hard Knocks. After successfully completing all required curriculum, I discovered that whatever it was I decided to take on, I could do it - and do it successfully.

I enmeshed myself in writing classes and received certifications from the University of Washington in Literary Journalism, Nonfiction Book, Commercial and Advanced Commercial Fiction. It was in these classes that the early stages of my first novel took shape.

It took years of rewrites to bring The Weeping Willow Sings to fruition. There were times when I left it aside and chastised myself for ever thinking I had what it takes to become a published author. But the characters continued to resonate in my mind and they never allowed me to abandon the project completely.

There were many compelling reasons for making the decision to self-publish my novel. The driving force was my mother.

Dementia had taken Mom's mind and robbed her of being present in the last years of her life. The one thing she always remembered was that I was writing a novel. When I presented her with a copy of The Weeping Willow Sings she cried – and I felt all the pride she held deep within her heart.

Mom died on the first day of spring in 2014. I cherish those brief episodes when the past and present came together in my mother's mind and we once again had a solid connection. The day I gave her a copy of The Weeping Willow Sings is a day I will never forget.