A Little About AJ

My story, Christmas Reunion, in Christmas Delights Anthology from Love Lane Books is my first published work, which is both thrilling and terrifying.  It's an honor to be included with such a vast array of talented authors.



I've always had the dream of being a published author.  When I was in elementary school I won a regional poetry competition for a poem written about Arbor Day.  I remember being shocked that I'd won.  I hadn't wanted to write the poem in the first place.  Later in elementary school I won another competition that allowed me to go to a special all day writing workshop.  We each wrote a story in the morning, and then reviewed and critiqued them in the afternoon.  I think that my story had something to do with Sesame Street, but I'm not positive.

Those were the last two things that I wrote that I enjoyed for years and years.  There were the typical essays and research papers in high school and college, and after that it was career and family, and my writing consisted of memos and scrapbook journaling.

I had a demanding and time consuming job, and after my daughter was diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum, it all became too much, and something had to give.  I quit my job and and devoted myself to being a full time mom and wife.  It was a big adjustment, and I found myself searching for something to fill the space that my career had held. 

I've always been crafty, so I spent time both scrapbooking/paper crafting and making jewelry, but in the back of my mind I was always wondering if I should try my hand once again at writing.  That decision led me here, to sharing my first piece of published fiction.

I am currently about 20,000 words into my next story, and I'm hopeful that I'll find a publisher interested in publishing it for me.  The working title is Pages in Time, and it tells the story Brandon and Jason.  Brandon was badly hurt by his first boyfriend and promised himself that he wouldn't give his heart away again.  Then he meets Jason, who just might make him break that promise.

I'm also planning to write a follow-up to Christmas Reunion.  I had such a good time getting to know Dillon and Eric, and I'm excited to share more of their story.