Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
Yes, and it's been a secret I've kept since I was in eighth grade. Near the end of that school year, my teacher reminded me that I still owed a book report or I wouldn't go on to high school. I was never a good student, but I was very good at wasting time by daydreaming. I was also rather lazy. Instead of reading a book, I faked a report based on a few paragraphs of a story I made up. I remember feeling very smug when I turned in the report, but it didn't take long before I began to regret what I had done. I was afraid the teacher would realize the report was fake and I would not be passed to the next grade.
I wanted to stay home "sick" the day the graded papers were given out, but Mom didn't believe I was sick, and there wasn't any use trying to cut school that day--the truant officers took their job seriously. The teacher handed the report to me while I sat at my desk, waiting for the bomb to go off. Imagine how surprised I was when she said, "Anita, I've always wanted to read that story, and now that vacation is here I believe I'll look for it in the library." Was she kidding me? I don't know. I'll never know.
Who are your favorite authors?
I don't have any favorite authors. I'm a kind of random reader...reading books that appeal to me for whatever reason without paying attention to the author's name.
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