AUTHORS WHO SHAPED ME INTO BECOMING AN AUTHOR

We are all so shaped by what happens to us in our childhood. I grew up very poor so reading was my thing. When I became an author and got to meet some of my heroes my dreams truly did come true!! I searched and searched for my pics and didn't find the one of me with Brenda Jackson which seriously bummed me out. I'm going to have to go back through my social media feed because this pic made my mom cry. Here are a couple of my stories of meeting two of my heroes . . . 

I used to sneak into my mother's books. That's what led to my love of romance. In the 6th grade I'd read a book giggling at the situations I didn't understand then. (we didn't have internet and didn't know nearly as much about the birds and the bees as kids do now :) ) My mother's all-time favorite author was Brenda Jackson. When I met her at a conference and took a picture it made my mom cry seeing her daughter with her favorite author. My mom's books were her most cherished possessions and now I have them and this series is front and center on my bookshelf. Brenda is a star at creating a family you can't help but love and want to be a part of. I highly highly highly recommend her entire Westmorland series which goes into many worlds. She's a master and a one-touch buy for me.

The MacGregors is the series that made me want to become a writer. I fell in love with these characters and knew that if I ever wrote, I'd write families. I absolutely love this family. It's been a few years since I've read them, but I'm going back and downloading them on audible so I can live the stories again. I wouldn't be an author without having read this amazing series. I highly recommend them. When I got invited to do a signing with the one and only Nora Roberts I was walking on air. I think I still am. It was a surreal experience. It showed me that dreams really can come true no matter how long they might take. I'm still living this dream and I hope I never wake up. Here's a few of the pics.