What you probably really want to know is who I really am.
I am reader. I love to read and am a firm believer in the value of the public library. I visit our local branch several times a week. One of my favourite poets Emily Dickinson wisely wrote:
There is no frigate like a book to take us Lands away.
One of the best memories of my childhood was sitting in the brown recliner snuggled up next to my mother as she read me two chapters a night from all fourteen of the OZ books by L Frank Baum. To this day I am still a huge fan of OZ and collect illustrated versions of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and memorabilia from the 1939 film.
I am an actor. If you look at my author biography over to the right you will see that I have two undergraduate degrees. I spent five years at Louisiana College majoring in theatre with minor concentrations in English. history and sociology. I graduated a very well-rounded and interesting person who had no job prospects, so six months after graduation I returned to my alma mater and obtained a degree in lower elementary education.
I am a teacher. For many years I was a classroom teacher in both the US and the UK. Throughout my teaching career I have always managed to use my theatrical background whether directing our school plays or starring in self-penned monologues of women from history. I performed a variety of roles from the famous ones like Anne Boleyn and Boudica to ordinary folk like evacuee Rose Peppercorn and Victorian housemaid Flora Spencer.
I am an Anglophile. In 1990 my future husband and I were exchange students in London for three months and fell in love with this "green and pleasant land." So although I was born and raised in the American South, I have lived in the UK for over fifteen years.
I am an artist. I have always been a creative sort and I carry on with my love of making small handcrafts through my ETSY shop: A BUNDLE OF HEATHER. I also sew most of own clothes.
I am a musician. I have very eclectic tastes in music from folk to punk to heavy metal to showtunes. My ukulele is named Tallulah and playing her makes me so happy. I chose the name of this blog from one of my favourite folk songs Wild Mountain Thyme because it says my name:
And we'll all go together
to pull wild mountain thyme
all around the purple heather.
Will you go, laddie go?
I am a dreamer. One of the things that is true about me is I have a very overactive imagination. I cannot shut it off, even at night. Most of things that I write come to me in the form of a vivid dream. When I wake up, I write it down and see what becomes of it. Sometimes it is just a short story and sometimes it turns itself into a longer tale.
Lastly, I am a writer. I have always been a writer. My mother's cupboards were full of stories that I wrote as a child (mostly adventures in the land of OZ) and I have always been fascinated with fairy tales. I love to research and share my findings so you can read all about fairy tales from around the world on my blog SPIDERGRRL VS THE WORLD every Fairy Tale Friday.
After many years of dreaming and writing and collecting all my scribbles in a folder, my dream of publishing has come true. With the help of my best beloved husband and the generous people who sponsored my Kickstarter campaign, my first collection of short stories entitled WOUNDS: New Openings Into Old Stories will be published in the autumn.
I hope to see you soon.
All the best,
Heather
