Have you ever played that word association game? You know the one… the participants choose a word that describes themselves and also begins with the same letter as their first name. My "throw down" descriptive word to match Judy has always been the word 'joyful' for two very simple reasons. Firstly, it's easy to remember and I don't waste too much time having to come up with something right on the spot. And, secondly, as a school counselor, I have to wear a "poker" face eight hours a day, smiling and smiling no matter what happens to come up; therefore making me appear always more "joyful" than I may actually be feeling on the inside, but that's okay! Thought follows action, so when I act joyful, my brain usually catches up. Try that sometime! It really works; I promise.
I have so many reasons to be joyful. I have a fantastic husband (Jerry) who supports all my hare-brained literary ideas and two precious grown daughters (Haley and Rachel). I simply adore my newest roles as mother-in-law (to Jordan) and grandmother (to Addison and Teak)! Too many extended family and friends to name right now (but none of you are immune from mentions in this blog!), and simply knowing I am a child of God is enough to make me smile all day long.
The photo of the book cover you see on this page is of my first published book, illustrated by Brenda Nichols. It's the first of a series of travel books for children, and the writing of that series brought much JOY.
More about that whole HOW-I-GOT-PUBLISHED thing later….
Stay JOYful and Write On!
