“Becoming a writer” assumes the seed to being a writer was never present in the first place.

Since the age of sixteen, I’d written stories but it wasn’t until my late 30’s when there was no longer
a choice but to be a writer. I could no longer encapsulate the words…they spilled out…wild and abandoned, and frankly, not very well written (but that’s another post). Regardless, the quality was of least importance at the time. What mattered was that I FINALLY was telling stories with intent. My stories. Fun, erotic fantasies where I wanted to see myself in every encounter. It happened during a period of my life that lacked creativity, physical, emotional and artistic. It became the outlet I desperately needed…that up until that point, wasn’t ready yet to be discovered.

After several years of short stories developing different characters, Patience truLove emerged…right in the midst of a divorce and my life in complete turmoil. I had stopped writing, I got quiet, I totaled my car. I was the definition of a life out of balance. And somehow, Patience turned up in a gift from a friend. During a holiday visit home to New Orleans, over café au lait, I was given one of the most thoughtful presents I’ve ever received….a green, Waterford, fountain pen.

Green was always the color of Patience. I’m not sure if he knew but when I opened it, I had one of those moments I felt in my gut before my fingers even touched the pen. A loud and unequivocal “yes” was heard only by me. I don’t use the pen to write everything but all my story notes, family history, progress notes are recorded in the flow of blue ink to paper. She called me to tell her story.

Every time I sit down to listen to her voice, Patience has something new for me. They’re no longer my fantasies but hers. Even as I write this midsummer, when kid’s lives have overtaken mine, I can’t wait to hear what she has to say in the next book. I have a strong feeling she’s going to meet someone this next year at UPenn, maybe over Spring Break when she heads to the British Virgin Islands with her father and the Honore family. He should be a good catch don’t you think?