Since the day I learned to read, I've devoured everything in print, with fiction as my genre of choice. The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mysteries, A Separate Peace, Romeo and Juliet... you name it, I read it. To this day, Jane Austen's Persuasion remains as one of my very favorite novels. I owe my love of writing to Sr. Sue Ann who assigned us...more »

Since the day I learned to read, I've devoured everything in print, with fiction as my genre of choice. The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mysteries, A Separate Peace, Romeo and Juliet... you name it, I read it. To this day, Jane Austen's Persuasion remains as one of my very favorite novels. I owe my love of writing to Sr. Sue Ann who assigned us something exciting and different for our creative writing exercise--write a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird, but no more than twenty-five pages in length.

My foray into actual writing was a result of a snit. After reading a romance novel by a famous author who shall remain nameless, I threw the book down and declared, "I can write a better story than that piece of garbage!" So, I sat down at my computer and pounded out a 125K story.

And it was a bigger piece of garbage than the book I'd just read. But I was bit by the bug, and kept writing and writing and writing. It paid off because within the year I had two contracts for short stories under my belt.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

My short stories are published by Whiskey Creek Press Torrid (www.whiskeycreekpresstorrid.com): "Unmasked" in Fall Fires, part of the seasonal anthologies, and "Dance With Me" in Torrid Teasers, Volume 12 (e-book only) and also in The Best of Torrid Teasers Volume 1 (print and e-book), a collection of the ten best Teasers of 2006.

Stop by my website at www.marychapman.net (18+ only, please) « less