My love affair with stories began with The Velveteen Rabbit.  It was a Christmas gift I received as a young girl from my godmother.  I was awakened to new truths, inspired to hope for greatness, and most of all, hungry for more stories.  Growing up, I went on daring adventures with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, gained a more mature understanding with Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, and in my teenage years, escaped reality through the Anne Rice Vampire Series and was enchanted by faraway times by The Great Gatsby.

            The first time I had the twitch that I should be a writer was during a high school creative writing class.  Our assignment was to write a short mystery.  How I delved into it, enticed by the possibilities of weaving together my own world and being the designer of all of the action and outcome!  It was a thrill, nothing like any “work” I had done before.

            However, the inherent risk of pursuing writing as a career did not settle with me at that time in my life.  In other words, I was too scared of being broke.  So, I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Illinois.  A very reasonable and noble path.  But… it wasn’t for me.  As it turned out, I am not the type of person who can listen to awful things all day long and not go home feeling awful every night.  Onward to varying jobs in recruiting and the airline industry while I sorted out what the next move should be.

            And then, I had my first son.  Which was an enormous life-changing event, of course.  Parental responsibility trumps all, and I decided on a stable future in teaching.  I earned my Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from DePaul University and subsequently taught 1st Grade at an elementary school in northern Illinois for six years.  During that time, I shared my joy of fantastic tales such as The Secret Garden, Trumpet of the Swan, Charlotte’s Web, and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. 

            Reading amazing books with my students was the highlight of my teaching experience.  The power of a story to indelibly effect a child’s perspective or imagination is unmatched by any other means.  You can tell a child that manners matter, and they may or may not listen to you.  But when they hear what happens to the spoiled children in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, they are sure to receive the message loud and clear!

            After my six years in teaching, I took a two-year leave from work to care for my two new babies.  While on leave, it was the perfect opportunity to pour myself into writing.  I researched and focused my efforts in screenwriting, and authored four screenplays.  My script Ditch Day was recognized as an official finalist in the 2015 Beverly Hills Screenplay Contest, and another one of my scripts, The New Me, placed as a quarter-finalist in the 2016 ScreenCraft Comedy Screenplay Contest.

            Although all four of my screenplays received positive feedback, the screenwriting industry is a tough nut to crack, so to speak.  I returned to teaching as I wrote, teaching 3rd Grade for a year, and 2nd Grade the next year.  It was then I realized how much children this age need excellent stories that captivate and inspire. 

            The story came to me in pieces.  First, there was Molly.  She would have the predicament of mourning the death of her mother and simultaneously have to cope with her father remarrying and having a new stepmother and stepbrother she didn’t want.  But what if Molly discovered a wishing well?  And she had new hope?  And her wishes came true, but sometimes the wishes she made weren’t for the best and she had to learn some hard lessons.

            The nagging pull would not go away from my mind.  That’s when I wrote Molly Bell and the Wishing Well.