Greetings, I'm Susan J. Smith - Grier, Writer at Large. Like most people who call themselves writers, I have a passion for the art. And like most of those same people, I've been "writing" since before I could actually write! In fact, I began as a pre-schooler scribbling on the dotted lines of my grandmother's TV guide magazines. Each week I could hardly wait until another one came so I could "write"on the lines.
Books, pens, paper and pretty colors have always held a special place in my heart. I'm an aficionado of elegant writing instruments, high quality writing paper and leather bound journals. But, I write with No. 2 pencils or one of my Plumix fountain pens and I usually use a legal pad. Mainly, my writing is done on my laptop, something I never thought would be the case!
I'm a writer by default. I had a glorious dream when I was young to one day be able to call myself a writer. That didn't happen until until I made the decision to put things on hold a while and help out with my aging mother who had dementia. It was more than a full time job and my brother, his wife and I were fortunate that we could work as a team so Mom could stay comfortable and safe at home.
Since I couldn't do a good job caring for Mom while holding down a full time job, I turned to freelance writing to pay my storage fees and keep the car insured and gassed up. It's been quite the journey. I've written hundreds of articles for websites, several magazine articles, a couple of artist's statements, an eulogy and other odds and ends. I've done blogging for a few sites, both paid and guest blogs. I have two children's books waiting for me to find a publisher and a novel in the works. I've joined some online writer's groups, participated in NaNoWriMo twice and won three times, started writing poetry again and just in general have been enjoying my life as a simple writer.
My one glorious claim to fame is my contribution to the anthology, Blues Vision, a compilation of various forms of literary work by African American writers in Minnesota. It includes such notable writers as Gordon Parks and two time Pulitzer Prize winning playwright August Wilson along with other important Black Minnesotan writers. A joint publication of the Minnesota Humanities Center and Minnesota Historical Society Press, the book is slated to show up in junior and senior high schools throughout the state as well as colleges and universities. It is used as a means to teach about the Absent Narratives of the African American voices in Minnesota. My story is Coming to Minnesota, the saga of how my family moved from Chicago to the tiny town of Emily, MN.
Besides having been a stay-at-home daughter, I am the proud mother of two fine young adults, a health counselor in Minneapolis and a first grade teacher in Atlanta. I'm also the doting grandmother of a fast growing, teenaged honor student.
You are invited to view my other blog if you'd like to really know what makes me tick!
Books, pens, paper and pretty colors have always held a special place in my heart. I'm an aficionado of elegant writing instruments, high quality writing paper and leather bound journals. But, I write with No. 2 pencils or one of my Plumix fountain pens and I usually use a legal pad. Mainly, my writing is done on my laptop, something I never thought would be the case!
I'm a writer by default. I had a glorious dream when I was young to one day be able to call myself a writer. That didn't happen until until I made the decision to put things on hold a while and help out with my aging mother who had dementia. It was more than a full time job and my brother, his wife and I were fortunate that we could work as a team so Mom could stay comfortable and safe at home.
Since I couldn't do a good job caring for Mom while holding down a full time job, I turned to freelance writing to pay my storage fees and keep the car insured and gassed up. It's been quite the journey. I've written hundreds of articles for websites, several magazine articles, a couple of artist's statements, an eulogy and other odds and ends. I've done blogging for a few sites, both paid and guest blogs. I have two children's books waiting for me to find a publisher and a novel in the works. I've joined some online writer's groups, participated in NaNoWriMo twice and won three times, started writing poetry again and just in general have been enjoying my life as a simple writer.
My one glorious claim to fame is my contribution to the anthology, Blues Vision, a compilation of various forms of literary work by African American writers in Minnesota. It includes such notable writers as Gordon Parks and two time Pulitzer Prize winning playwright August Wilson along with other important Black Minnesotan writers. A joint publication of the Minnesota Humanities Center and Minnesota Historical Society Press, the book is slated to show up in junior and senior high schools throughout the state as well as colleges and universities. It is used as a means to teach about the Absent Narratives of the African American voices in Minnesota. My story is Coming to Minnesota, the saga of how my family moved from Chicago to the tiny town of Emily, MN.
Besides having been a stay-at-home daughter, I am the proud mother of two fine young adults, a health counselor in Minneapolis and a first grade teacher in Atlanta. I'm also the doting grandmother of a fast growing, teenaged honor student.
You are invited to view my other blog if you'd like to really know what makes me tick!