: About Me

Well, briefly, I came from the typical dysfunctional background, and survived. Just recently having decided not to continue the dysfunction into my own children's lives, I am the single mother of three beautiful beings. To pay the bills, I am an analyst for the State of California.

I write because I have to...because otherwise, the words would ooze from my pores, and people would stare. I write mainly poetry, in these most recent years, but I began writing novels in, I believe, the 4th grade. It was a story about twins who got into a lot of trouble. It wasn't great, but it kept me out of trouble, cooking up stories for them. I remember that the main characters' father was patterned after my own father...played a very small part in the story of our lives.

I started writing poetry, I believe, as code, to keep my secrets. And then I began sending them out for others to decipher like hieroglyphics. It is a challenge, decoding dawn, and I, to this very day, enjoy the test of finding me in the words. I am honored to have had my poetry published in local and online venues including Rattlesnake Review, Song of the San Joaquin, Green Silk Journal, Poetry Now, Poet's Ink Press, and StrangeRoad.com. In 2007, Rattlesnake Press published a small collection of poems entitled "Blush", and in 2005, I had published a book collection of poetry entitled "Love and Other Eternities", available at publishamerica.com/orderinginfo or BarnesandNoble.com or amazon.com.

My passion is ...

My children first, my poetry second

I know too much about ...

One can never know too much about anything...there's always room to grow. The experiences of my life have taught me a lot about struggle, but even struggle causes growth, and I continue to learn.

My parents always told me ...

I have a nasty habit of picking at scars, so rather than open old wounds, I'll think on this response and come back to it.

My childhood ambition ...

To write...it has been my compulsion for as long as I can remember.

My favorite memory ...

The first time any of my three children opened their newborn eyes and saw me.

Why I write ...

Because I am compelled by the pen, mostly to express my emotions. Hopefully I'll learn here to educate and use the pains of my life to help others.

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

"Yesterday, I Cried" by Iyanla Vanzant. Haven't written much lately, but what I have written has been poetry. I've been listening to India Arie and Anthony Hamilton.

My first job ...

I worked at a bank in Texas as a teller in the little mini-branch across from the main bank. Math was never my strong subject. Yet I then spent 10 years in an accounting office, and am now working in the Bond Finance unit...go figure...

My best moment ...

Homeschooling my daughter for kindergarten, I taught her how to read...beautiful mommy moment.

My inspiration ...

My God, my children

Society & Lifestyle > Personal Morals & Values Age old question: What determines who you are?

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What determines who you are? How you behave, make your decisions, live your life and your capacity for love are all determining factors, though it is difficult to pinpoint why you are who you are. It would be easier, in a world of puppets, to simply look up and see who is pulling the strings. However, we humans are nobody's puppets. Scientists have long discussed the driving force of human nature, postulating that genes in the brain are malleable in response to internal and external triggers. Research has been conducted on the sequenced genomes of certain social animals such as honey bees ...

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