The Short Version of My Life

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In 1972 I submitted a story to the Wilmer Culver Memorial Competition, and the first prize came with a check for $100.00. I used the money to attend Zola Helen Ross’s writing classes. I started publishing short stories. Mrs. Ross helped me get a job teaching writing to adults at Renton Vocational Technical Institute. Eventually I taught at a number of local colleges and schools. 

 

In1980 and again in 1982, I studied with Raymond Carver at Centrum and applied his methods to my writing classes. 

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When my twenty-year-old marriage ended, I found myself needing a steady income. I went to work for Microsoft and AutoDesk,winning prizes for the best educational software for both the Works program and AutoDesk tutorials. Personal writing had to fit in after work. During this time, Quarry West published the story "Milk River". It was anthologized and nominated for a Pushcart Prize. I won other prizes and recognition, including the Eyster Prize for Fiction. 

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Centrum offered a month-long residency where I wrote the first hundred pages of "Milk River", the novel. That was the best time of my life. At the end, I cried all the way home. Writing fiction was not my real life. 

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Back in Seattle, I moved from AutoDesk to telecom, writing implementation guides and test plans. For the next ten years, I rose at 4:30 to write until 7:00, finishing "Milk River". 

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These days I’m back writing short stories.  I’ve come full circle.