THE WRITING BUG  ... it bit me when....    



          

            THE WRITING BUG ... it bit me when....                                                                 

         I was a teenager living in New Haven, Connecticut. My parents worked two jobs to survive and put away money to bring my grandparents from Cuba. During long summer days my sister and I often walked downtown and crossed that beautiful park, The Green. The walk would get you close to Yale University and also to the public library. The library, the magical place that opened its doors to two young Cuban refugees needing to read in order to improve their English but, even more, it facilitated my escape into other worlds created by skilled authors.        

         It was then, in the sixties, that I read and befriended a favorite author, Mary Stewart.

She is considered one of the founders of romantic suspense. She is known for beautiful descriptions and unforgettable characters. Disney used her book, The Moon-Spinners and made it into a successful movie. She was a best seller in the 60's, 70's, and 80's and I read most of her books.

         Today, at a writers' group, I met a lady who mentioned one of her favorite writers. A thrill went through me when she said Mary Stewart.

         I think the hours spent with this author as a teenager gave me the desire to one day be a story teller. A writer.  

         A question to my writer friends: What  fueled the desire in you to write? Which author inspired you the most? When did the bug bite you? (Just curious about what births a writer / author.)

             P.S.  A few months ago I read again The Moon-Spinners. Love at second sight!

             Mary Stewart ... perhaps some of the charms of her stories are the ways she used exotic settings, England, Austria, Greece. She is the author of The Ivy Tree, My Brother Michael, Thunder On The Right, Wildfire At Midnight, Madam, Will You Talk? and The Moon-Spinners.

 

      
                   
                                  The Green, New Haven, Connecticut