Should I confess to you...this is my first time?
No, I'm sure it will become obvious soon enough that this is my very first blog. So here are the facts: I was born in a tiny Arkansas town during the previous century. (You didn't expect me to tell you the year, did you?) My southern roots weren't deep enough to hold me though and I soon found myself moving around the country, until I finally landed in the high desert of western Nevada, where I have a terrific view of the impressive Sierra Nevada and only a short drive to fantabulous Lake Tahoe.
It wasn't until I discovered the forever vistas of the Southwest that I found the inspiration to chase my lifelong dream--to write. And here I am now, on the verge of becoming a published author in my own right. (More about life as half of a writing team in a later blog)
At the tender age of ten, I was astonished to learn that a letter I'd written to a Memphis newspaper about a pitifully ugly comic strip character had been published in Letters to the Editor.
And so the seeds were sown. From that day on, I was certain that I was fated to be a writer.
Have I impressed anyone yet? Probably not. And certainly not a certain teacher in the one-room schoolhouse in Datil, New Mexico (a mere wide spot in the road), where I spent most of one school year as teacher's helper, because I was the only student in the 8th grade.
Still, the dream lived on. And as an adult, I spent too much time producing personal opinion columns and restaurant reviews--all without earning a cent. Heck, I even had to buy my own meals at those restaurants. (One of which was truly terrible.)
Yet I finally achieved my goal of getting paid for my writing with a very short poem that appeared in True Love magazine.
Hooray, I was on my way! NOT!
I became a stringer for a weekly newspaper, had a short story published in a small-format magazine, and sold a travel article which covered the front page of the Dallas Morning News’ Sunday travel section. Wheee!
With the publication of that short story in Sunshine magazine, I felt as though writing fiction was a decadent dessert after years of a “no-sugar, no-salt, no-fat” diet.
So, can you imagine how excited I am to learn that Champagne Books will release my action packed, romantic adventure, Border Heat, in June, 2011?
Pinch me, please, I’m still dreaming!
Thanks for visiting and please come back next month to learn what inspired Border Heat.
--Ramona Butler
Thanks for visiting and please come back next month to learn what inspired Border Heat.
--Ramona Butler
