Published by deborah.woehr on 05 Feb 2008 at 05:54 pm
Virtual Blog Tour - Day 4: Once Upon a Time
Below is an excerpt from the article I wrote for StoryCrafters, where you’ll find all kinds of articles on the craft of writing.
I didn’t always like to read books. In fact, I hated them when I was in the third grade, when my teacher began forcing book reports down our throats. Despite a kind mom’s efforts, I still couldn’t stand the thought of sitting there and reading some stupid story that I would forget a few minutes after I’d finished it.
Three years later, I was introduced to Judy Blume. All of the cool girls were reading this book. I just had to have it because they were reading it. Forever, it was called. I bought it with my own money, took it home and began to devour the pages because I knew what it was about. My parents wouldn’t approve of their 12 year-old daughter reading this book about a young woman’s first sexual encounter, which made it all the more thrilling to sit there and read it in front of them. Forget Nancy Drew! This was much more exciting!
Well, my mother caught me as I was reading The Act. Stunned shock came first, followed by outrage. My parents let me finish reading the book, which still remains in their night stand, 29 years later. I went on to rebel her by buying the books of Robert Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, Piers Anthony, Dean Koontz, and Stephen King.
