When I was in third grade in Pinellas Park, Florida, I wrote a book of poetry. I sandwiched badly written poems
into an orange folder with little metal claps. Most of the poems were about dogs, horses and my Uncle Luke’s mule,
Old Joe. I was hooked. Words became delicious morsels and I couldn’t get enough of them. Little did I realize
that I was on my way to the writing life.
I started writing in a diary in 7th grade. (You, know...Dear Diary, YOU-KNOW-WHO
sat beside me in English today. He is sooooo cute!). I guarded that thing with a lock and hidden key. I am still writing
in that journal some 40 years later. I still write about a dog on occasion, not so much horses these days, but a husband,
three sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren now occupy major space in this book of my heart. Of course, the lock
and key have been replaced by a password and some fancy keystrokes—but it’s a diary all the same.
For 17 years,
I wrote about my family, my friends and my faith in a weekly newspaper column, FOOTSTEPS & HEARTBEATS. It
is in that column I learned how powerful words could be…how they can touch…or hurt…or heal. It
is an experience I will always cherish.
I also began getting published in magazines about then. When the then editor
of WOMAN'S DAY, Maureen McFadden called me one day to accept my first article I did the happy dance around my desk chair
bouncing our poodle Otis around like a boneless chicken. Then I calmly thanked her as professionally as I could muster.
Then I decided to try
and write books. Now let me stop here and tell you that I never would have gotten this far if I had not had Gary Cleveland
as a husband. He believed in me. For my 26th Birthday he bought me a little metal file box and cards and an inspirational
book by an author I had never heard of before. Then he said, "This book is good, but you can write better than
this. So, get started." Or something like that. So I did.
Okay, so then I decided to write books. So far two have
been published. My first, HUGS FROM HEAVEN: PORTRAITS OF A WOMAN’S FAITH came out in 2000. The day
the first copy arrived in the mail, Gary left the package for me to see in the kitchen when I got home from work. He
was out working in the yard. As I opened it, my heart was bouncing off of my ribs like a pinball. As I held my
first-ever published book in my hands I started to weep. I ran outside with the book and joined Gary in the yard.
He gave me that crooked southern-boy smile of his and held me in his arms as we cried together. We had done it!
My second book just came
out in February 2010. MAN FROM MACEDONIA: MY LIFE OF SERVICE, STRUGGLE, FAITH AND HOPE, is a collaborative non-fiction
about a dear and courageous man named, Dr. Aaron Johnson, a foot soldier in the fight for civil rights. Same thing happened.
When the book hit the stands, so to speak, my hubby ordered his copy from Amazon. Of course I would have given him one, but
he didn't want to wait for my copies to arrive. Amazon delivered the next day. Gary made a big ceremony out of it and
took my picture holding the book. Yep, I am blessed with this man.
I’m proud of many things in my life—my writing of
course. But there is something greater—my family: My husband, Gary, our three sons and daughters-in-law,
our six grandchildren, my parent’s and my brother and his family. Where would I be without them? Who would
I be without them? There is no good answer to that.
But there is even something greater than my family. My Father.
You see I am a Christian who writes. And there is nothing more that I desire than to make my God proud; to give Him
glory in all that I do, especially in all that I write. If I fail at that...I fail...period. I believe that Jesus
Christ is His Son and I believe that his Holy Spirit lives in me even as I write this to you. I humbly ask you prayers
that I stay true to this calling.
Nothing else left much to mention except thanks for stopping by. I hope to meet
some of you someday, somewhere. Until then, I will keep writing and if God wills, there are a few more books in me yet
to be discovered. Blessings!
