That question has a three pronged answer.

a. The Academy Years: I started in high school, transitioned to university, moved on to graduate school and finally, to law school. Along the way, many fine teachers and professors honed my ability to write in the academic vernacular. Among my favorites, AP English, a university class that devoted an entire semester to 'Hamlet', a Labor Law class in graduate school, and Federal Jurisdiction in law school. I've had several academic papers published.

b. Writing for myself, just because I wanted to read the story: My flirtation with fiction began about 20 years ago (yes, I'm dating myself). I was enamored by a certain set of characters, but in my opinion, no work of fiction had done these characters justice. I added in some of my own characters and really enjoyed the process. Then I moved on to writing a book with an entire cast of original characters. That first attempt was a trilogy (that was actually 4 books because it had a book-length epilogue) that came in at over 1600 pages (yikes!). I still love the story, the writing---not so much. The second novel came in at just over 100,000 words. (Still too long, but more reasonable, and far better written.)

c. Writing for publication: That came about in a rather miraculous way starting early in 2020. Boundary Waters Search and Rescue: Beyond Belief  will be published late this year. (Yes, I'm excited). I love these characters so much that I've already written a second book in the series Boundary Waters Search and Rescue: Beyond Imagination (anticipated publication date-Spring of 2021), and am working on a third book (part of the series but still unnamed). The original story arc will be complete after Book 3 (anticipated publication date-Autumn of 2021).

     Okay, I'm going to be brutally honest. As much as I love the romantic notion of writing novels longhand with a beautiful fountain pen---there's no way. Nope. Not going to happen. I get Word and Word gets me. I love moving blocks of text around (sometimes even between books), I love the spelling and grammar checks. I love that my editors can easily send reams of red ink with explanations of why their way is the right way (I took some convincing on that whole Oxford comma thing, but I'm now a believer). I can also correct aforementioned errors easily (no white out in sight). So the closest these books are going to get to my fountain pen (provided the electricity stays on) is when I sign them for readers.

The cleaner your manuscript is when you submit it, the better chance you have of being picked up for publication. Prior to submitting Boundary Waters Search and Rescue: Beyond Belief, I had two proof readers and 4 beta readers vett the manuscript. After that, I hired a professional editor with 28 years of experience to work her magic. Yes, it costs money, but it was worth every dime.  I developed a thicker skin through this process, but thanks to her copy and line editing, the book I sent to the publisher was far more polished than my original manuscript. I believe that was a key element in my manuscript being accepted. 

I'm going to include the URL for  her website in this post. I do not work for DKBB, nor am I receiving any payment for this. In fact, I pay her (as there are 2 more books in this series). I am just a very happy customer. If you have any questions or special requests/needs, contact her directly. Whether you use DKBB or another service, please consider hiring a professional to edit your work. Here is the URL and thank you!

http://www.dkbb.org/home

Why not? I grew up in Duluth, MN, a port city at the head of Lake Superior. Northern Minnesota and the north shore of Lake Superior are both beautiful places to be and to grow (yes, even in the winter). Ely, Minnesota, Duluth, Minnesota, and Grand Marais, Minnesota, are among my favorite places on Earth. I know them well, have lived and vacationed in their environs, and they make a perfect setting for my first set of published novels. If you need a push to visit where the books are set, just PM me (no I do not work for any Chamber of Commerce). Photo is of the Grand Marais harbor, AKA 'the Norwegian Riviera'.