Once upon a time....

A lot of stories begin that way, and mine is no different.  Once upon a time, I was an avid reader, but had no interest in writing.  And then one day my brother dared me to join him in an exercise called Nanowrimo.  And suddenly I discovered that I enjoyed writing!

But I had no interest in editing, or publishing, or (ugh) joining a writing group.

Yet --  I did enjoy writing.  

Life was busy, and I didn't write again until the following year, during Nanowrimo.

And I met some really cool people online who were also doing Nanowrimo.  And we started emailing each other outside of Nanowrimo.  And it was really fun - the writing, and the socializing.  And then they invited me to be part of a writing group.  I was reluctant, but they were nice people, so I agreed to join them, on the condition that I didn't have to share my writing with them.. because while I enjoyed writing,I had no interest in editing or publishing, or in sharing my work with them.

I won't bore you with the rest of the details, but I have partnered up with a talented editor and writer , Catherine Valenti, and we have formed a small independent press, Smoking Pen Press.  We write, we edit, we publish our own works, we publish the works of others. 

On a personal level, I have a blog entitled Teapot Musings, I have one book published (The Weatherman), and I have several titles in the works.

​

And oh yeah, I still take part in Nanowrimo, and I'm still  involved in that writing group.

Laurie Gienapp