Sharon Cullen

At the age of ten, when I read Black Beauty, I knew I wanted to be a writer. But life got in the way.  I discovered boys, went to college, got married, had kids, all the usual things people do. Yet during it all, the dream simmered until one day my two oldest were in school and my youngest was taking a nap and I said to myself, Sharon, if youre going to do it, nows the time.

My brother sold me his out-of-date Gateway computer for $200. I had dial-up connection and an internet package that allowed me twenty hours per month of web surfing, but I managed to write my first story in just under three months.I must say, I was a little scared at first. Not at the long hill Id have to climb (I was too naive to realize just what Id gotten myself into) but because suddenly there were people living in my head, talking to me, demanding I tell their stories. And it wasnt just one hero and heroinethere were many.

From then on I knew what I wanted to do when I grew up (never mind Id been married nearly mumble-mumble years and the mother of three). I wanted to be a writer.