Just a bit about me.

 

 Born on March 10, 1959 in Gwinnet county Georgia I am the second of four children born to Everett and Billie Jo McClure. My family lived in Gwinnet County until 1970 then moved to the small town of Hayesville in Western North Carolina where I grew to love the mountains as much as I loved to read.

 For me the written words were magic, I remember my older sister Mary reading to me before I learned how to read. To me Mary was a supreme being simply because she could turn those little black marks into wondrous stories and at the time my greatest dream was to be able to do the same thing. I was in awe of her ability and determined that I to would gain this ability. By the time I was in second grade I was reading books from the high school section in the library and would read three every week while school was in session. Dad would not have a television in the house so reading was our entertainment. His opinion was that TV was going to be the ruination of the young people of the world; time was better spent doing something productive.

 My father was a veteran of WWII and disabled so life wasn’t easy for a family of six. The small disability check Dad received from the veteran’s administration just barely kept the wolves from our door.

 After we moved to North Carolina I spent a great deal of time with my grandparents who were wonderful storytellers, I would spend hours listening to them and they had some of the most interesting stories to tell. I loved spending the night at their house and waking up to the smell of bacon cooking and coffee brewing and hearing the soft voices of the adults talking quietly.

 My mother passed away when I was eighteen and my father followed fourteen years later. My family was not especially close but after mom died my father and I built a close relationship and letting him go was hard.

 At fifteen I left home and married shortly after. Quitting school and going to work in a local factory where I worked until my first child was born five years later. I then stayed at home for several years during which my second daughter was born. After my second child was born I returned to work in the factory and worked there until 1986 when I moved back to North Georgia with my husband Don and children Leona and Becca. One year later my son Matt was born.

 After my son was born I become a stay at home mom for four years and found that I had free time on my hands so I went to the local library and checked out text books. After a few weeks I had taught myself what I would need and took the test for a GDE and earned it. As a child I had been an A, B student and had no problems passing the test.

 When my son was four I returned to work in a factory and worked there until the company I worked for followed the path of other manufacturing companies and moved their plant to Mexico. At this point I decided to return to my education so I signed up at a local two year college and earned a degree in engineering. After graduating I went to work for the Georgia Department of Transportation as a Civil Design Engineer. As time went by I moved to another position in the Construction Department and have remained there. I enjoy the work and the people that I work with are great but I find myself turning back to my first love and that is the written word.

 Throughout my life I have written short stories and many poems, which have only lay on my desk until I either tossed or filed away. The poetry I would write and give to someone in need.

 In 2008 I finally decided to get serious with writing and pulling from stories heard as a child I wrote Where Does She Go. Being unsure of my ability this to was shelved. Then in October of 2011 I awoke one morning and realized that this story was destined to go the way of my past efforts so I decided to at least try and publish. After receiving a review of my work I was thrilled. I know that sometimes a review can make or break a person and many will dump the whole idea of writing but for me it was simply wonderful to get an honest opinion on my work, constructive criticism if you will.

 After reading the review then going back to my manuscript I made a few changes thus Where Does She Go became A Whisper of Secrets. That one review changed my whole outlook on writing I became more conscious of how things should be worded in order to make the most of an idea, to make a story flow, and how to get the most from your characters.

 I have always been an avid reader but in 2001 I lost my vision for a few months due to multiple sclerosis. When my vision returned I could not focus well enough to read like I had in the past. I still read but more slowly than before and require larger print. Where I would read as many as three books in a week I can now only manage one in a month now. Sometimes for me it is a struggle to simply walk across the floor but during those times I can work on my computer and I can change the font to a size that is easy for me to see.

 I love the mountains and spend as much time as possible at the property my husband and I own in the Southern Appalachians of North Carolina. While living there full time I did not realize how peaceful how calming the mountains are but living away for twenty five years then going back makes a person appreciate the beauty of those old mountains. With no cities nearby the night sky is so much more vivid a storm louder and where else could you stand on the front deck at four thirty in the morning and look over and see a bob cat sitting on the steps beside you as if he owned the place. Where else could you go for days and not hear a siren screaming somewhere near? If you hear a vehicle you know who it is just from the sound and if you don’t recognize the sound you go to see who it is.

 I enjoy painting also and occasionally I will pull out the oils, I also enjoy quilting, cooking, and gardening. The thing I enjoy most is spending time with my family, to have all my children and their families together for a home cooked meal is the best.

 I am presently working on a novel that deals with a family haunted by an ancestor from the far past who is intent on destroying them and the life they have built.

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