My Biography in Brief

How I became a writer. Taking an idea and turning it into something people wanted to read.

This is about me.

Thank you for visiting my portfolio.

The question I am often asked is, “How did you start writing?” The honest answer is that I have always thought of myself as a storyteller more than a writer. Long before I understood grammar, structure, chapters, or publishing, I understood imagination. I loved the feeling of taking an idea, a memory, a fear, a funny moment, or a dream and turning it into something people wanted to hear.

I started telling made-up stories when I was a young child. I vividly remember being about twelve years old, sitting with my sisters and cousins, and entertaining them for hours with stories I created as I went along. Some of those stories stayed with them, and they would later ask me to tell them again. At the time, I did not think of that as writing. I was simply doing what came naturally. I was building worlds, creating people, inventing trouble, and trying to make everyone want to know what happened next.

That was really the beginning.

As I moved into my teenage years, storytelling began to take a more structured form. I became involved with my school newspaper and eventually served as editor. Wanting another outlet for student creativity, I also started a school magazine. Those experiences taught me that writing was more than simply entertaining people. It could inform, connect, encourage, and preserve moments that might otherwise be forgotten.

My interest in writing eventually earned me a full journalism scholarship to college. While attending college, I continued my work in journalism and served as an editor for the college newspaper. Looking back, those years gave me a strong foundation in writing, editing, interviewing, meeting deadlines, and communicating clearly with readers. I also gained experience working as a reporter in both print and television for a while.

Over the years, storytelling became writing. I wrote in different ways during different seasons of my life. Sometimes I wrote fiction. Sometimes I wrote memories, reflections, poems, letters, or personal pieces. I did not always share what I wrote, but writing remained a quiet thread running through my life. It gave me a way to understand people, preserve memories, work through difficult experiences, and celebrate the ordinary moments that often matter most.

I was born and raised in North Carolina. After my husband completed his degree in aerospace engineering, we moved to Maryland and spent much of our adult life there before eventually returning to North Carolina in 2016. Along the way, I wore many hats: daughter, wife, mother, volunteer, businesswoman, traveler, reporter, editor, and writer. For several years, I also worked with missing persons, an experience that taught me a great deal about hope, heartbreak, determination, and the strength people find when life becomes difficult.

Those years shaped the way I see stories. I learned that people are rarely simple. Everyone carries history. Everyone has moments of courage. Everyone has private battles, hidden dreams, and memories that helped make them who they are. That understanding often finds its way into my writing, whether I am creating fiction, writing a blog entry, working on a poem, or reflecting on something from real life.

Years later, after raising a family and experiencing many of life’s adventures and challenges, I turned my attention toward longer works of fiction. Several of my novels were published through a Canadian publishing company, giving me the opportunity to experience another side of the writing world. While publishing was exciting for a while, I eventually realized that the kinds of books I was being asked to keep writing no longer held my interest. What I loved most remained unchanged from my childhood: telling stories that people connected with and remembered.

My writing interests are varied. I enjoy fiction, memoir-style storytelling, inspirational writing, poetry, blogging, and historical topics. I am especially drawn to stories about courage, family, friendship, survival, faith, healing, and the small moments that quietly change a life. I believe every person has a story worth telling and that some of life’s greatest lessons are found in ordinary experiences.

Throughout the years, I have been fortunate to meet people from many walks of life. Some became lifelong friends, while others crossed my path only briefly but left lasting impressions. Their stories, along with my own experiences, often become part of the way I think, feel, and write.

Writing is not my only passion. I enjoy reading, photography, graphic design projects, genealogy, collecting family stories, and spending time with the people I love. I am also an enthusiastic supporter of fellow writers and believe encouragement is one of the greatest gifts we can offer one another.

As a member of the Writing.com community, I enjoy blogging, reviewing, participating in contests and activities, and helping other writers develop their craft. One of the things I value most about writing is the connection it creates between people who may never meet but can still share experiences, emotions, memories, and ideas through the written word.

So if you ever wonder how I started writing, the answer is simple. I began as a little girl telling stories to anyone willing to listen. The road from storytelling to writing has been long, winding, and full of life, but that little girl is still here. She still loves a good story. She still wants to know what happens next. And she still believes words can reach places ordinary conversation sometimes cannot.

Whether you are visiting for the first time or returning to read something new, I am pleased you stopped by. I hope you find something here that makes you smile, think, remember, or simply enjoy the journey for a little while.

Kind wishes,
Tee