Penny Lauer

I am a wife, mother, grammy, sister and aunt. In my past life, I was also an English teacher, Pan Am flight attendant, sales and marketing trainer, and volunteer. Ever since I gave myself permission to write, I've found that I have no option but to continue. I need to write. Plain and simple. It makes me content. I also need to be outdoors parts of each day to think clearly and renew myself. Nature will always play a key role in my stories. I imagine that children will too. I have confidence in the wisdom of children:they haven't learned yet to hide their emotions or fear honest communication, and they are incredibly resilient. Even though both of my books are meant to be read by adults, big chunks of the stories come from the point of view of children.

I have always written. I've kept diaries and journals ever since I was a little girl; quickly recorded sights,sounds,activities that touched me in meaningful ways and that often turned into poetry; described the sources and stories of recipes that became a family cookbook; and helped my mother write her memoir. Finally, I took a deep breath and wrote the story that I had dreamed about for so many years. And then I wrote another one. The importance of fulfilling your dreams is a theme that has run through both of my novels. When I was a child, I pretended that I was a famous author who helped people resolve problems through her writing. That is still my intent - not only to entertain, but also to help people. I also pretended when I was little that I was a beautiful singer and dancer - one of my dreams that didn't work out.

I've promised myself that I will never rush my stories. Quantity isn't important to me. Quality is. The truth is that I become so involved in my characters that I have trouble moving on to new ones. I let them develop on their own and lead me.

When I'm having a really good writing day, I thank the muse sitting on my shoulder when she gives me the words that reveal a truth or clarify an emotion. And I ask her to please never desert me.