Janette D Melson

I wrote my first poem when I was six years old, and I have been writing ever since. Now, admittedly, that first poem was awful -

Roses are red;
Violets are blue.
You should always go to school
Unless you have the flu. -

but it gave me a lifelong case of the writing bug anyway.

?I wrote short stories (mostly horror) and poetry all throughout school and graduated from college with a BS degree in English/journalism. I worked as a newspaper reporter and editor for seven years before moving my career in a different direction altogether - first as a court reporter, then as a preschool teacher, and finally as the owner of Lifelong Learning, where I teach piano, phonics, science and music theory to preschoolers.

I told myself that when I turned 40, and my children were old enough to fend for themselves a little more, then I would concentrate more on becoming a published author. Well, more than a decade and two grandchildren later, I am finally making that happen! After feeling God prodding me for the last few years, I have finally taken some definitive steps toward publishing my first novel.

I am a member of ACFW and was recently a finalist in the Oregon Christian Writer's Cascade Contest for my unpublished children's picture book.