|
A Tennessee gal at heart,
Donna spent her childhood in a Jersey shore town, not far from the Big Apple. In
love with Donny Osmond since the age of 12, she began to write love stories
about him*. Lots of them. Then, she discovered romance novels.
After she married, (not
Donny, by the way) her husband encouraged her to continue to write and try her
hand at actually getting published.
She dabbled.
Finishing her first novel
with a friend in 1989, she'll tell you, it had every mistake in it known to the
writing community. All of them. She didn't leave one out, from craft to
industry.
She continued to stumble
through the journey when she saw an ad in a Knoxville newspaper. Tracy South, an
area native, signed a book for her -- a Harlequin! Donna asked her how to get
published. Instead of trying to explain the process, Tracy told her about a new
chapter of Romance Writers of America®.
Donna had no idea what that
meant. She went to the meeting, not knowing what to expect, but knowing it was
something she had to check out.
At that bookstore she found
other women just like her with a dream of publication in the romance genre. Now
thought that maybe her dream could come true.
After finding the Smoky
Mountain Romance Writers® she won several writing honors and became RWA®
Pro. All because she found people who all wanted the same goal.
In 2003, Donna attained two
wonderful things.
After serving in SMRW® in
different capacities including President, Vice President and Conference
Coordinator, she was honored with the Ellie Service Award by the Smoky Mountain
Romance Writers® at the Mountain
Laurel Conference, in Knoxville, TN.
But lastly, her dream came
true.
The 2002 Sweet, Spicy, and
Spooky Award sponsored by SMRW® had a final round read by Erin Cartwright-Niumata
at Avalon Books. Excited to final,
Donna waited on word for the winners, like any contest finalist would. Astounded
to not only win, but to be requested, she didn't believe an editor was serious
about her work. That's why she waited until October of the next year to send in
the manuscript. (Of course, she also had to write it.)
Now Donna lives in East
Tennessee with her husband of 24 years and teen-aged son. She is an active
church member and believes in Jesus Christ as Salvation. Donna is available for
speaking engagements regarding both her writing and her faith.
| 
