I'm not good about promoting myself, I'm kind of shy, but get loud when I get wound up.

I was born in Cleveland so spent the first years of my life breathing Lake Erie air that apparently gave me ridiculous blood.

I'm the kid that spent too much time in the hall when I was in elementary school for trying to make the class laugh.  I kept my mind occupied during my hall time making up stories about why I was in the hall.  "boot checker"?  "lunch box auditor"?  "brick counter"?  "weather informant"? 

Finally in 9th grade I had a great English teacher that let me write the assigned weekly themes with as much and as far as my imagination would stretch.  She'd pick out three to read at the end of the day on Friday and when mine was picked, I was sweating like crazy to read it, but the first time I heard the laughter at something I wrote that was supposed to be funny, I was hooked on writing silly stuff.  By high school I was writing skits, themes, and announcement ads for the school.  Later I wrote stories for my kids, then landed a fun gig as a humor columnist for a local paper for a couple years. I wrote obituaries but couldn't remain serious, so not allowed to do that now. 

Finally, when I semi-retired from working for my hubby's company, I decided to sit down and write a book and use some of the collection of screwy people I've met in my life as characters and a few of the screwy situations I've been in as part of my plot.  I must have a catalog of people types in the back of my head to pick out and use when necessary.  I also use those characters, their accents and their ridiculousness answering door-to-door sales people's pitches and answering "unknown callers" on my landline.  Keeps me in practice and on my toes.

Serious isn't in my nature, I was given great sarcasm genes from my dad and he was a hilarious story-teller, hopefully I picked up that gene too.  There's skill, timing, and placement of information to tell a funny story and have it not be too long or so boring that you lose your audience to wondering when is lunch.

I was so excited with this 50 year old pent up excitement to write a book, I didn't think it through about marketing or getting it reviewed.  Also didn't think through the title very well.  I wrote sort of a joke there, nobody gets it. I probably expected a little too much from the general audience.  So now my book has been on Amazon for 3-4 months and it's been DOA since the get-go, so hope to find someone with some experience to read it and give me a review.  It's dialog heavy, rich backgrounded characters, and some practical old fashioned horse-sense.  I'm unsure if I'd change anything, but would still like an honest, educated opinion so I can determine to pull it or let it be.  I gave copies to my friends who raved how fun, interesting, suspenseful, and creative it was....but maybe they are just saying that because I gave them free copies.  I don't really know. Maybe someone out there will.  I don't need the money, but would really like to spread the fun of the story and the MacGuyver-type work my characters have to do to get out of the trouble they got themselves in.

What is a Facebook Fan Page?  I haven't a clue.  I do run a fun-meme page "Ridiculous Life" where I make up new ridiculous memes every day and post them.  No politics allowed.  No nasty either.  Just silly, fun, ridiculous. Thought I'd be able to post my book now and then but that has also been a total FAIL.  I guess FB people that I'm connected with don't read much.

I had chickenpox as a kid.  And poison ivy.  Got lost at the Sears and Roebuck's basement once when I was about five and was terrified until my dad rescued me from being an orphan.  I guess I'm done biographying now.  

Keep in touch!!