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Hello...welcome to my web-site. All this technology is new to me, so this is an ever-changing work in progress. Feel free to click on the links to find info about my work, both published and waiting to be published. I am working to add more photos and links to web-sites for writers that I have found to be useful resources. Keep checking back for improvements!

Writing Sample- descriptive

The beetle scurried for cover, rushing in anything but a straight line over the hot sand. The sun was beating down on the dunes now. The breezes had stilled. Most of the creatures had already headed for cover to avoid the noonday sun.
Early morning was the busy time at the Maryland seashore. Sandpipers and plovers skipped over the sand in search of a morning meal. Then they hurried back to their nests hidden away in the tall grasses. Occasionally, the sand would shift as a pony passed by. It ate tufts of grass or scratched its back. It rubbed against an odd shaped tree. Years of strong winds blowing off the water
The beetle stayed hidden away during this dangerous time, but it needed to get out and eat before to day became too hot. The shiny black shell on its back would soak up the sun’s heat quickly. It ran from one hiding place to another. It had to move quickly, there were always birds around looking for a tasty treat. Grains of sand fell away from under foot, slowing the progress. It finally reached to top of the dune. From here there was a ledge, worn away by years of pounding waves. A wall of sand two feet tall faced the sea.
Years of life at the edge could be seen in this sandy wall. The lowest layers were darker from years of decay and decomposition. The widest layer, in the middle, was dotted with broken white shells. Buried under the sand long ago, they were now exposed again as the waves beat against this sandy bank. At the very top, where the beetle was scampering, was soft, light sand. Bits of grass poked out here and there. These tufts kept this sandy haven from being washed into the sea completely.
The beetle zipped along the edge and disappeared into a hole. Safe at last.

Writing Samples- Non-fiction

BIRDS OF A FEATHER

Flying over the battlefields of World War II Italy, a tiny hero silently works to carry out its mission. With a strong instinct, he heads toward his destination with amazing accuracy. Hundreds of lives depend on him. This "GI Joe" has an important message to deliver. It is strapped to his leg, and he is a pigeon.
In a time before cell phones and e-mails, pigeons carried many messages. Carrier or racing pigeons have been used for centuries, dating as far back as Julius Caesar. They can fly up to 55 miles per hour and have been known to travel as far as six hundred miles in one day. During World War II, more than three thousand people were in the United States Pigeon Service. They took care of 54,000 pigeons. These racing birds, which held the rank of captain, were used in many ways. They carried messages to tell the location of troops or troops under fire or to request help for troops under fire. Some were specially trained for night missions and still others had cameras strapped to their chests to work as spies. Though enemy soldiers were shooting at them, over 95% of the United States pigeons arrived safely with their messages.
GI Joe was one of these heroic pigeons. He was one of twenty thousand racing pigeons working in Italy. A British brigade was supposed to attack a city there at 10 in the morning on October 18, 1943. The United States was supposed to bomb the city by air before the British troops went in. The city was abandoned earlier and the British troops went in. The bombing needed to be canceled or the bombs would be falling on the British troops. Radio messages failed. With a message to cancel the bombing strapped to is leg, GI Joe was released. He flew 20 miles in 20 minutes, about the same speed that cars travel on the highway! With only minutes to spare, he got to the US Air Command just as the planes were warming up Over 1,000 British lives were saved.
In 1946, GI Joe was awarded the Dickin Medal for gallantry in London, England. He lived out his days in Detroit Zoological Gardens. In 2004, a war memorial was unveiled in England in honor of Britain’s Animals of War. Among those honored were the thousands of messenger pigeons that saved many lives during the world wars.