Enthralled with stories, it matters little whether I am telling a story out loud, writing a novel, poem, or letter, crafting a diary entry, or daydreaming (a story that resides only inside my head and is purely for my own pleasure). Plain and simple, I am a natural born storyteller.

I am also a student of the writing craft. This takes my storytelling to a more disciplined level so that I can share my narratives‒through written language‒with others. I am passionate about words: their rhythm, precise meaning, and infinite versatility. Story telling structure such as plot, character, setting, and theme must be thoughtfully engineered, and respected for the platform it provides. It doesn’t matter to me if I am recounting a hiking trip from the previous day, or writing a complex novel, I strive to give each tale a solid foundation through its construction to make it a story well told. Grammar and spelling are a struggle for me but I do the best I can and will say no more.

Combine the elements of innate storytelling skill, and the craft of good writing with huge doses of practice and perseverance and I may one day attain something resembling literary art. In the meantime I’ll share my “practice sessions” with you. The journal chronicles my current day-to-day life and nowadays would be considered a web log, a.k.a. blog but that is too ugly sounding a word, in my opinion. Please accept it as my journal with all the interactive features of a blog. You can comment on entries, click through to linked reference, and so forth. The Wilderness Woman Diary also employs blog features and is basically a journal about my life at Aspen Ridge Ranch from the past to the present, and it will include future additions. This diary serves as reference material for my yet to be completed memoir, Trails In The Sky. You can follow the working process for writing this book, as well as a novel called A Courtship In Words, on this site by going to books-in-progress. Also, here in this writing section are a collection of my essays and poetry. Look for my spiritual and travel writing in their own unique sections called spirit, and adventure.