A Reason To Kill: A Blacklick Valley Mystery (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781501090196)

I have always loved the mystique of the written word. My very earliest memories of books are now merely elusive images lost in the hazy mists of childhood. However, I can clearly mark that space in time when the world of literature opened up to me in a very real and concrete way. I was eight years old, third grade, when my teacher opened a book in class one day entitled THE GHOST OF BLACKWOOD HALL by Carolyn Keene. Yes, it was one of the Nancy Drew amateur sleuth series. As she read, I was suddenly whisked away into a land of adventure and intrigue--a magical, mystical journey into another place and time. That was my first love affair with the written word, and that love continues even now. For me, creating my own tapestries with words was a natural spin-off from reading the works of others. Writing became a means of expressing all of the thoughts and feelings and dreams and emotions that I harbored within myself--a place where all things were possible and my imagination could run free and wild. I wrote primarily for myself, a source of self-satisfaction, from journals to essays to short stories to finally my first novel, RAIN OF TERROR. As RAIN OF TERROR, Book 1 in the Blacklick Valley Mystery Series, exemplifies, I have a proclivity toward the mystery genre. The twists and turns in plot, the questions, the clues, the suspense, the final revelations, the challenge of bringing it all together captivate even me because often I'm not certain where my characters will take me. The story is set in the mountains of western Pennsylvania where I was born and raised. I tried to stay true to the authenticity of the scenery, the climate, and the culture of the area--all deeply embedded in my memory and experience. I am now about to release Book 2 in the series entitled A REASON TO KILL, which should be out in early October. Of course, the book is another mystery, a gripping tale of suspense and romance which will also address some important social issues of our time. On a personal note, I graduated cum laude from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Education along with a concentration in the Social Sciences. Although I have taught at various educational levels, my most recent teaching assignment was at Webster College in Tampa, Florida, where I currently live. When I'm not writing or reading, my life revolves around my family, my little dog Toby, my numerous cats, cooking, and gardening--the quiet passions that seem to define me.