Location: Canada
Member Since:
Aug. 27, 2011
Maureen Fisher
Biography
I’m not one of those people who knew from the moment she sprang from her mother’s womb that she was destined to be a writer. Until my epiphany (more about that later), I never scribbled pearls of wisdom on small scraps of paper. I wasn’t brimming with plot ideas. I almost never heard snippets of conversation in my head. And yet, I became a writer and am loving it.
This is my story.
Once upon a time, long, long ago, I emigrated to Canada from Scotland at the tender age of seven. Years later as a University of Toronto graduate, I convinced the federal government to hire a Fine Arts specialist as a computer programmer. After three years of bits, bytes, and dumps (probably not what you're thinking), I graduated again, this time to full-time homemaker and mom, raising two wonderful sons. Plunging back into the business world, my second husband and I started a management consulting company. This marriage survived because my husband and I pledged never to work on the same project again. Ever.
After a century in the consulting world, I grew weary of snappy business suits, difficult clients, and rush hour traffic. I still didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up, but I was certain of one thing—it wasn’t a management consultant.
One memorable day, a spiritual healer called up my guides, guardians, and gatekeepers to channel an unforgettable session during which my Inner Voice made itself heard loud and clear. Truth be told, it was yelling its head off. Apparently, I wanted to write books. Not dry, boring, technical treatises, but fresh, funny romantic suspense novels. Seemed that I wanted to transport readers into a world of romance, mystery, and fun. Who knew? Certainly not my conscious mind. But the idea resonated.
Okay, so how hard could it be to write a novel? Thousands of authors did it every year. Always an over-achiever, I quit my day job, attended a one-week seminar on writing a novel, read a couple of how-to books, joined the Ottawa chapter of RWA, and plunged right in. Learning can be a humbling experience. I persevered, I slaved, I revised, I learned. After twenty-five rejections, countless workshops, sixteen-re-writes, and two first-prize wins, my efforts finally paid off with the sale of my first book.
Today, my husband and I live in Ottawa where I volunteer for an addiction family program, play bridge, bicycle, hike, square dance, read (naturally), travel as much as finances permit, and slave over my computer to improve my writing skills.
This is my story.
Once upon a time, long, long ago, I emigrated to Canada from Scotland at the tender age of seven. Years later as a University of Toronto graduate, I convinced the federal government to hire a Fine Arts specialist as a computer programmer. After three years of bits, bytes, and dumps (probably not what you're thinking), I graduated again, this time to full-time homemaker and mom, raising two wonderful sons. Plunging back into the business world, my second husband and I started a management consulting company. This marriage survived because my husband and I pledged never to work on the same project again. Ever.
After a century in the consulting world, I grew weary of snappy business suits, difficult clients, and rush hour traffic. I still didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up, but I was certain of one thing—it wasn’t a management consultant.
One memorable day, a spiritual healer called up my guides, guardians, and gatekeepers to channel an unforgettable session during which my Inner Voice made itself heard loud and clear. Truth be told, it was yelling its head off. Apparently, I wanted to write books. Not dry, boring, technical treatises, but fresh, funny romantic suspense novels. Seemed that I wanted to transport readers into a world of romance, mystery, and fun. Who knew? Certainly not my conscious mind. But the idea resonated.
Okay, so how hard could it be to write a novel? Thousands of authors did it every year. Always an over-achiever, I quit my day job, attended a one-week seminar on writing a novel, read a couple of how-to books, joined the Ottawa chapter of RWA, and plunged right in. Learning can be a humbling experience. I persevered, I slaved, I revised, I learned. After twenty-five rejections, countless workshops, sixteen-re-writes, and two first-prize wins, my efforts finally paid off with the sale of my first book.
Today, my husband and I live in Ottawa where I volunteer for an addiction family program, play bridge, bicycle, hike, square dance, read (naturally), travel as much as finances permit, and slave over my computer to improve my writing skills.
Where to find Maureen Fisher online
Website: http://www.booksbymaureen.com