Nice to Meet You
I am a Cherokee/ Greek writer living in southern Illinois with my husband, three children, and two granddaughters. I began life in an unfortunate situation, much like thousands of children in this country. I was born to a fifteen-year-old mother who could not take care of me. After living in foster homes for two years, at the age of four, a loving couple adopted me and my younger sister, but feeling unwanted and rejected never left my mind. Who was I? Where did I come from? But I was lucky to have found my new parents. They helped me realize my potential. They told me the sky was the limit when it came to what I could accomplish in life.
Over the years, my struggles mounted. I escaped an abusive marriage and lost a baby to RH incompatibility before turning 21. On May 17, 2002, following the births of two beautiful, healthy children, I gave birth to Kimber Liliana—a child the doctors said could never survive the stroke she had suffered in the womb. After seven long months in the neonatal wing at Cardinal Glennon and then Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, and to the amazement of the doctors, I finally brought Kimber home. Though she is bedridden from spastic cerebral palsy, she celebrated her sixteenth birthday last May—a joyous event I never take for granted.
At the age of twenty-six doctors diagnosed me with schizoaffective disorder, and I won the battle with cervical cancer at twenty-eight. Instead of giving in to my diseases, I picked myself up, met and married my soul mate and began writing fantasy novels.
I want others in my situation—either adopted and looking for answers, families of disabled children or sufferers of mental and physical illness—to see my success story as evidence that life does prevail. They can have active and fulfilling lives no matter the difficulties they may face.
As did my love for singing, my passion for writing began at an early age. As far back as I can remember I wanted to publish a novel I could call my own. I wrote the outlines for books one (Mythos) and two (Beyond Legend) of the Mer Chronicles series during free time in tenth grade creative writing class, but it took many years for me to find the courage to send the completed novels to publishers. Now that I have found my niche in today’s literary world, I plan on bringing fantasy into the lives of our youth for years to come.
When asked if I created my characters to inspire others, I immediately have an answer. ABSOLUTELY! I wanted to embrace my husband’s kind and protective nature, thus bringing David Cooley’s character to life. (My son) Bryce’s loyalty shines through as David’s best friend, and (my daughter) Charlie’s innocent and inquisitive nature and (my step daughter) Dakota’s playfulness triumph in future books.
My youngest child’s bravery and determination to live despite her handicap was inspiration enough to immortalize her in black and white. By creating Cindel’s character (for Kimber), I hope that readers will see people with special needs as having the same potential as everyone else.