[close] I grew up as Julie Navarro, in a family of truly right-brained individuals. Among us you’ll find writers, artists, and musicians, all of us willing to talk about the arts at a moment’s notice.

After growing up in Los Angeles, I landed in Ventura County where I made great friends, met Jesus (I’d met him as a child but wasn’t all that friendly toward him. Guess you could say we were re-introduced), and fell in love with the dashing Dan Carobini. (Who, although born and bred in landlocked Pennsylvania, now owns several pairs of board shorts.)

Despite serious illness—which I may write about some day—and three children delivered by C-section (am I saying more than you want to know yet?), I managed to hone my lifelong love for writing and sell a few articles. I joined the National League of Pen Women, and eventually received two awards from the organization: one for non-fiction, the other for fiction.

Over the years, I’ve published more than 100 articles and stories in magazines and books, including Aspire, Decision, Expecting, Focus on the Family, Key Magazine and God’s Abundance: 365 Days to a Simpler Life. As I wrote, I found a common theme cropping up: my family, the sea, and God’s timely work in the lives of those around me.

Maybe it was time to incorporate those interests into novels, I thought.

And so I did. Not once, but twice. Both times, God shut both doors and windows. So I continued to write and dream and raise my kids with Dan. Eventually I decided to write women’s fiction for the young at heart, and that’s where I found my voice.

When I’m not writing or marketing, I’m driving my kids around town, imagining that my mid-sized SUV is actually a sleek sailing yacht. [close]