Fay Risner

I spent my first fourteen years on a farm near Schell City, Missouri in the Ozarks. The rest of my life I've lived in the country thirty miles from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. For my Nurse Hal Among The Amish series, my experiences on the farm helped me write about Nurse Hal as she struggled to learn about taking care of animals, chickens and a garden so she will fit into the Amish way of life. Since I've always lived near a small town where everyone knows everyone else, it was easy to write my other series, Amazing Gracie Mysteries. That series takes place in early 1900's, and is about two elderly women in a retirement home that spend too much time watching the neighbors and can always find a mystery. Both series take place in Iowa so I can mention real places that are supposely near my characters fictional towns.

I've written short stories since I was a teenager in high school. It took years to develop my skills to write books. An English teacher helped me for years. I credit her for keeping me writing and improving. She went from being my teacher to being one of my biggest fans. In 2002 while I was working at the local nursing home as a CNA I entered the State Health Care contest with a short story about a resident and in the photography contest at the same time. I won both contests that year. The nursing home board gave me a week's Writer's Work Shop at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I went from being surprised, to delighted, to very nervous. On the very first day, I realized I had come a long way already compared to many of the other students. Listening to the experts was a incredible learning experience for me and a confidence booster.