"I've been writing forever: my cat being my first audience. Give her the warmth of a sun ray and the sound of my voice and she was happy. I enjoyed all my elementary readers and subjects relating to English and remember the closet-style library with affection in S. S. # 4 Pilkington one-room school. Every Friday afternoon, the teacher opened those doors and there they were: books.
I am grateful that my children liked bed time stories. And even later when some of their children liked them even more. Maybe I became better at telling them. My involvement in the church at an early age, sitting around a Sunday school table gave me precious opportunities to tell the Bible stories I'd written for the children. In my early married life with our youngsters at my knees, Victoria Holt and Eugenia Price on my kitchen table, I set out to write a novel.Donna Mann says:
Unfortunately these efforts always ended up in the waste basket, simply because of lack of time, knowledge and skill.
Persevering was the key and although I served in pastoral ministry for many years, I continued to write through sermons, articles, newsletters and academic courses. On holidays and Mondays, I usually managed a chapter or two of some project.
I'm published and self-published, the later proving to be the most work. Determined to read and write about the ordinary stuff of life, my first love is to write about people."
Doug and I live in historic Elora or Salem Ontario, Can, depending on whether you look in the phone book or at the tax bill. We have five children (one deceased), eleven grandchildren, three great- grandchilden, one cat and a pond full of goldfish. What is my favourite genre? To read? Definately historical fiction. To write? Yes, give me historical fiction, anytime. Era? Probably early 1900s, England. Although my new project has taken me back to 1800, Scotland. As well I enjoy reading, writing and telling children's stories.
When, for one reason or another, I can't work in one of these long manuscripts? I play! Yes, it might be a musical instrument, but more often I go to the Meadowlane Kid's book site (converting slowly to little red barn stories), where my farm animals live. So, friends, if you don't find me one place, just hike up the country road to the farm at the Meadowlane Kid's Stories (Little Red Barn Stories) site.
