An Author’s Golden Elixir

I’d been fascinated by the life of my 4th great grandmother, Dicey Langston, for nearly two decades before deciding to write a book about her life. Her story was the first fiction novel I ever wrote. It hooked me, reeled me into the power of fiction and the golden elixir of story. Over the next few years, I wrote at least nine more novels, eventually tutoring with editors to further perfect my craft.

Writing fiction was a part of my “hero’s journey” as an author. I traveled to other worlds and...