Throughout my journey as an author, I’ve come to realize that writers need many things. None, however, as important as these two: A broken watch. And a giant piece of chocolate.

The broken watch is to represent the fact that in the publishing industry, time doesn’t just crawl. Sometimes, it ceases to exist altogether. If you write, you know that an author might actually spend more time waiting to hear back from an editor or agent on her proposal or manuscript than she did writing the entire book in the first place.

Which is, of course, where the chocolate comes in.

For me, I’ve needed chocolate since day one. I was creating and making up stories before I even hit the second grade Sunday school room at my church. Reading and writing have always been in my blood. I remember sitting in my house as a little girl, surrounded by books on all sides and crying because I couldn’t read them yet! My mom used to laugh at me (gently, of course) because I would get so worked up about something that wasn’t ready to happen. But in my little-girl opinion, I was so ready to read that I would pretend to do so anyway (stubbornness, also, might be in my blood) and I began to make up what the foreign words meant on the page. A head-start to my creativity? Only God knows for sure.

And only God knew when I was truly ready to begin my journey. I remember the day my dad brought home our first computer. I stared in awe at the complicated gadgets before me, totally overwhelmed. With all my seven-year-old genius, I pecked on the keys as if they might bite me. Little did I know this strange contraption would later become of one my best friends. Slowly but surely, I began hacking out poems and short stories on those intimidating keys. Most of the time, I didn’t finish them—I lost interest halfway through and started a new project. But it was progress, a taste of what would come in my future. I also started a diary, won awards in elementary school for reading the most books of the entire class and placed in my school spelling bee. Words always meant a lot to me, in a variety of forms. Later, I fell in love with young adult books, and even tried writing my own version of a Baby-Sitters Club story. (which is one book no one will ever read, trust me!)

All along, looking back, I can clearly see God’s fingerprints on my life, lovingly guiding me in the right direction. I picture Him smiling down in amusement at my attempts to write over the years, shaking His head and saying “Oh, just wait. You have no idea the plans I have for you.” God had a specific path for me all along, and when I was ready, the pieces began falling into place.

I got serious about my writing when I turned eighteen. I joined writers groups, started building friendships with other authors, and attended conferences—quite the step from a shy little girl hiding behind her books! Basically, God lifted me straight out of my comfort zone and plopped me down in the middle of my biggest fear—and my biggest dream-come-true. My first Christian fiction novel, a romantic suspense titled Midnight Angel, was published last January by The Wild Rose Press.