I write young adult novels and am represented by Alyssa Reuben of Paradigm. Please check out my books by clicking on the tag above. For those who are interested, here’s my writing story (a more detailed version can be found at sboman.livejournal.com):

After mastering The Little Red Hen, my five-year-old self recognized the power of reading.  No longer must I wait to have stories read to me! I could read them myself!

In second grade, my teacher put pictures on the board to help us write. I wrote fascinating stories about “chrains roling ovr the hils.” Ta da! My love of imaginative writing began.

Growing up I loved the books of Francis Hodgsen Burnett, Beverly Cleary (a dawnzer? Yes, I knew what it was like to be misunderstood, too), Edward Eager (magic!) and Roald Dahl (where I learned grossness could be funny. Snozzcumbers or frobscottle, anyone?). As a teen I read books by Judy Blume, Lois Duncan, and Paula Danzinger, writers who portrayed teen angst in all its glory. In high school I was introduced to classics: Faulkner and Shakespeare were my favorites. I also discovered contemporary authors like Toni Morrisson and Truman Capote.

Why am I talking about reading so much? Because it is what made me a writer. Hearing stories since I was very young created my love for the written word. I love words. Yes, big, fat dictionaries bring me to my knees.

I can’t say anything about the connection between reading and writing that hasn’t already been said, and said better than I could; I just know first hand of its truth. To this day, reading good books is like getting a kick in the writerly pants, inspiring me to write better, stronger.

I’ve kept a journal since I was seven-years-old (that second grade teacher, again!). It’s painful rereading the stuff from when I was younger; I had so many embarrassingly romantic ideas that seem immature and, well, dumb now. But heck, that’s what journals are good for – a place to write all the stuff you wouldn’t want the rest of the world to see.

I always loved holding a pen over a blank page – those journals were my story and no one else could write them.

Besides journaling and letter writing, I didn’t write much in my years as a young mother. When my second child was a toddler I began taking writing classes again at the local college. That woke me up to creative writing again and I had a short story and several poems published in a literary review. I began dreaming stories and woke up in the middle of the night to sit in the hall and write them.

After a couple of more years I realized my dream to become a published author of books needed to become a goal, something I actively worked toward (gee, who’da thunk?).

After three and a half years writing and querying three books I found my agent. Currently, my YA paranormal novel titled FADING is on submission to editors.