Q: So, how did you become interested in writing?

A: A nun. With a yard stick. And a mean streak.

Just kidding. No one wants to believe me, but I had the most wonderful nuns when I attended Catholic school. This is my first grade class. One nun, one room, 63 kids. No teacher’s assistant, no room mother. Perfect order at (almost) all times. Sister Georgine instilled in me a love of all things reading and writing. And, perhaps just as important, she never chastised me for reading ahead in our Dick and Jane books, bless her soul. Later, while reading the Nancy Drew mysteries under the blankets with a flashlight, I wondered if I, too, could one day write a book that others would want to read long into the night.