Look and Listen

Biography

For my entire childhood and schooling there was never a question of my becoming a teacher. My father was a teacher then principal and mom was a school secretary. So for 15 years I taught Middle Grades with a focus on English, especially writing. Meanwhile I raised my four kids, encouraging creativity. As far back as I can remember I wrote stories, poems, songs and more. I had several items published in the college literary magazine and worked briefly writing articles for a newspaper. Somewhere along the way the idea of this series began to blossom in my head. Over the years I would begin writing then get distracted by raising my family or teaching. Finally my husband said, "Quit teaching and write your book." So I did. And once I began writing the final version it was as though the story told itself. The characters came alive and new characters found their way into the book as did new situations and dangers. When I originally began writing it there were no illustrations, but as it was rolling around in my brain the illustrations pushed forth and kept coming. Now they are an integral part of the story. Volume I, Odyssey, is complete and ready to be published. Volume II is half-way completed and the other three volumes are outlined.

Inspiration

My father, first and foremost, was my greatest inspiration. He was a writer who never had the courage to put his stories on paper and get them published. I determined that I would not follow his footsteps. Secondly, my husband has inspired and supported my writing every step of the way. The series grew out of reading the newspaper and watching the evening news. Evil lurks in every dark corner and sometimes in the very light of day. That knowledge is what this series is based on. Every atrocity mentioned in the series came from actual news reports. Most were so fantastically evil I didn't even NEED to fictionalize them. Having taught Middle Graders and raised four of my own kids, I talked with them often about the creeping crud of evil in their lives and how to avoid getting stuck in the tarpits. Those discussions fueled the characters and plot of this story. I have created a website to showcase the illustrations and series information. Check it out at http://www.seraphymwars.com