New Year as New Novelist

Hello World and hello New Year!

For many years I have taught Communication Studies in the college classroom, and have loved it beyond measure. Wonderful students have passed across the threshold of my Speech Comm classroom, and I've learned more from my students than they realize. I have given them the best of my knowledge and experience, but have chosen to shift gears professionally in 2010.

My passion is moving in the general direction of the open road! With an opportunity to travel, and with the convenience of modern technology, I have elected to write my way along the highways of the Good Old USA!
Most of the time I'll be at my home base, but adventure calls me to explore and grow with every new travel and writing experience possible. This is an exciting new direction. How much I look forward to 2010!

Some distant horizon beckons me to make wonderful new friends, ponder beautiful natural wonders, greet new people with each stop for a sandwich or photo shoot, and write about all of it.

In 2008 I took in many of the great National Parks of the West, and in 2009 I sauntered along an historic southeast USA vacation---had lip smacking fried oysters at Paula Deen's restaurant in Savannah, explored the entire length of the Outer Banks, ferried to Okracoke Island, photographed Jupiter Lighthouse in Florida, visited the boyhood home of Edgar Allen Poe in North Carolina, photographed the light house on Tybee Island off the coast of Georgia, revisited the breathtaking Thomas Jefferson home of Monticello in Charlottesville,
sang God Bless America at the annual July 4 celebration in Washington D.C., visited the National Zoo for the first time, camped in the exquisite mountainous terrain of Wild Wonderful West Virginia, and auditioned for American Idol at Walt Disney World.

Travel in 2010 is wide open, but, as opportunities present themselves, I'll intend to convey my thoughts via this blog. The goal is to post every Friday. (I just marked every Friday of my 2010 calendar: BLOG!) As time permits, or as inspiration presents itself, I may post more thoughts. Weekly posts "sound" manageable.

I have completed one historic novel and have begun research on its sequel. The story is about a newspaper feature story journalist who embarks on a personal quest to study a deadly tornado. But, she gets more than she bargained for as she finds a new perspective on life while tracing the path of the storm. Her inquisitiveness began with a traumatic memory conveyed by an old family story teller.

In the early twentieth century, a group of small children were walking to school along a country road in Appalachia when a tornado touched down. Their beloved one room schoolhouse was out of reach. Alone and terrified by an experience like none they had known in their short lives, the children have only their wits to save them. One little girl panicked and ran away from her companions who were left weighing risks of continuing on the road to school. Good neighbors go "on hunt" of the terrified girl. The story of the children in the storm is Part II of the novel. Part I entails events of other school children caught in the violence of the deadliest storm system of its type in the history of the United States.

The novel sequel will go beyond the lost children's story (which, by the way, is based on true events) as the newspaper writer explores further human interest stories related to violent weather. I'll be traveling to the site of the mid nineteenth century storm to research my new novel for 2010.

Novel #1 has not been published yet. My goal is to have it in print by Christmas 2010.

If you are intrigued by natural wonders and natural disaster,
I'm your gal. Once I publish Novel #1, I've promised myself a tornado vacation. Now THAT will be something to document!

Tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards, floods, and other natural phenomena capture my curiosity. Meeting new people, visiting new places, and seeking new experiences are the foundation of living life to its fullest. I love every day. I love people. I am so thankful for every moment and every opportunity to explore!!!!!

And so----down the road----we shall go!