Join me for a cup of tea and I'll rattle on about nothing...

I had to laugh a while back, listening to a podcast where an author said that growing up she’d believed that all authors were dead, because she’d never met one. But the truth is, authors are all around, hidden in the very fabric of life.

So, what is an author? Who is behind the pen?

Personally, I believe an author is someone with a vivid imagination, someone who likes to play around with imaginary places and events. With a keen sense of observation an author can capture minute details of a situation and let them morph into so much more…

Life becomes an endless resource for the creativity, or craziness, of the author’s mind.

Sure, Writing schools, classes, seminars, clubs, books and activities exist. They can help you understand the mechanics of writing, fine tune your technique, but as with any art, some form of talent is needed at the base.

So I ask you again, what is an author? Where can you find one? How often have you seen an “author in uniform” or name tag to point one out? It’s not as though there are any identifying marks on us either. ;o)

I believe that each author is unique, simply because we have all walked different paths and have shared different experiences along the way. We see things in our own way…and somehow all the elements of our life seep into our writing, adding color and spice.

I have worn many uniforms throughout my life…and yet, somewhere in there (all along) was me, the writer. Although I have been toying with writing for a great many years, I have only recently published my first book.

Last weekend I had to hide out in a swamp, so
I passed the time reading. It was actually a
nice break.

Why? Maybe life pushed me to it…after having lost my baby I shut the world out and turned to writing to keep sane. I had been physically injured when it happened, and this injury left me walking with a cane; unable to teach martial arts and move freely about as I had done my whole life. So, there I sat, at my computer writing. I have to add that Zoey, not yet 2 at the time, kept me getting up every morning and going on with life.

If I had to choose between books or TV/Movie, my answer would be books! I love to read, I always have. I remember watching and liking Star Trek back when I was in elementary school. A friend bought me a Star Trek book when I was 11, and I fell in love with the world within the book…which quickly became books. I read every one I could get my hands on…revelling in the messages within, There was always a way, always hope, always an explanation… And I liked when the POV switched to the ‘bad guys’ and you found out they were not so bad after all.

My love of reading has grown over the years. I remember being part of “Books by Mail”  as a young mother, anxiously waiting for my precious package to arrive and whisk me away to a new world. Today I own hundreds (probably close to 2000 books in my library) and a little over 1000 e-books, shared between 2 e-readers. Since I have begun writing I have broadened my choice in reading, trying genres I would have never touched before. I still maintain an aversion to anything overly graphic, in violence or intimacy.

I find that since I’ve actually become an author, my perception has changed a little. I watch people and situations differently. I see human interaction in a new light. I study body language and facial expressions, and wonder how I could describe an emotion or given situation so someone else could feel it.

One day I hope to be able to make a living as a writer. I also hope to be able to run, skate and do karate again. For now, I take things one day at a time as I continue to write, study and enjoy my daughter. I’m still learning to accept what my life has become.