A little info on who I am and why I'm here (in the literal, not philosophical, sense)

So I want to be a writer. Well, I'm already a writer, but I want to be a published writer. OK, I'm already that, too. But I want to be a published fiction writer. That I'm not...yet.

Writing is pretty much the only thing I've ever been really good at (and yes, I know that's a dangling preposition, but right now I'm a character, and this is my voice, so it's OK, or okay, whatever). Oh yeah, I was pretty good at math, too, but I didn't enjoy math.

I enjoy writing, a lot.

So when I was a junior in college and it was time to declare a major, journalism made sense. I was pretty good at it, and I liked it, so I became a journalist. Then I needed to make a living, so I became a waitress also. I dabbled in various types of writing over the years, but waiting tables, tending bar and managing a restaurant was my bread and butter.

Then I married a wonderful guy and gave birth to two of his kids, and I retired from the restaurant biz to be a stay-at-home mom. As rewarding and fulfilling as that usually is, there's been a void in my life, and now I'm trying to fill it. By writing, a lot.

I write freelance business features for Memphis' local paper, The Commercial Appeal. In June, I started on a full-length women's fiction novel and wrote about 60 pages (single-spaced!) in a day and a half before becoming totally overwhelmed by the project. I decided I needed to hone my fiction-writing skills on shorter pieces. So I wrote a children's book, which I recently submitted to a New York publisher. And a poem, which was submitted to and accepted by an upstart literary magazine. And a short story, which I'll soon submit to a fiction-writing contest.

Right now, I'm very happy, inspired and kinda proud of myself. I'm 41, and I'm finally dedicating myself to becoming a published author of fiction. This is my blog about my endeavors.