Author Bio
I live in the beautiful state of Missouri with my parents and younger sister. One of the reasons I love Missouri is because the state gets to experience all four seasons. I like to interpret these seasons as: Winter (also known as Ice & Snow), Spring (Allergies and Thunderstorms), Summer (Blistering Heat and Humidity) and Fall (More Allergies and an Occasional Early Snowstorm). Despite the weather and sinus-related challenges, I love it, and can't think of any other place I'd rather live!
I've been an avid reader since I was a kid. One of the great things about reading is that when the weather wasn't so great, reading was something I could do regardless of the conditions outdoors. Besides great novels, another one of my favorite things to read is the newspaper. I can also read a novel and watch television at the same time, which is a good thing, because there are only so many hours in the day to enjoy the adventures of the characters of great books, reality shows, and cable news channels.
I went to college with the intent of majoring in English, but changed my mind and studied dance instead. Five years later, I graduated with a dance degree and my freshly published first novel. Somehow, I ended up right (I can think of a really bad pun 'write' here...) back where I started-writing!
My hobbies include: playing tennis (at least running around on the court with a racket in my hand... the amount of balls I hit is debatable), knitting (sort of) and as of late, reading 'blogs.
I also like to cook, and will admit that cooking is one of my more accomplished hobbies, especially in the area of baking. I didn't go to culinary school (although I really thought about it, sometime in between majoring in English and studying ballet), so I watch cooking shows to feed my never ending curiosity about the chemistry and 'how-to's' of cooking. However, I have resigned myself to the fact that I will probably never be able to make those incredible melted sugar sculptures or do anything productive with phyllo dough.
My favorite web sites and why:
All Recipes.com (http://www.allrecipes.com) There is a recipe for everything here! Seriousl...
Hachette Book Group USA (Hachettebookgroupusa.com) Because I love reading all of those free chapters!
Relevant Magazine (http://www.relevantmagazine.com) Lots to read and think about here...
Lucky Magazine (http://www.luckymag.com) Because I like to pretend I know things about fashion, and this website is like studying the Great Fashion Handbook. Besides, I keep telling myself that if I ever write about a really fashion-minded character, I will need all of this information.
ACRW-American Christian Romance Writers (http://www.acrw.net) This writers' organization has been a great source of information for me. I've learned so much about the business of writing and also made some great friendships here.
My Favorite Authors and why:
Louisa May Alcott. Little Women was one of the first long books I remember reading...one of the books that sparked my love for the public library and reading. library. (After, of course, I quit complaining about my mom having picked it out for me and telling me to read it.) I've read most of her books and loved them all.
L.M. Montgomery. Anne of Green Gables, and all the subsequent books in the series, along with several of her other novels are some of my childhood favorites. (After, of course, a false alarm during which time I wasn't allowed to read the book because my mother thought that Anne of Green Gables was about witchcraft... something Marilla said about Anne having "bewitched" Matthew in the early chapters of the book.) But, isn't it funny how my favorite childhood authors have the same first two initials?
Kristin Billerbeck. (http://www.kristinbillerbeck.com) Because her books are hilariously fun. The Ashley Wilkes Stockingdale books are not to be missed!
Robin Jones Gunn (http://www.robingunn.com ) She is one of my favorite authors from my teenage years... she's written a lot of books and continues to do so. Her Glenbrooke series was inspirational to me in my quest to write contemporary fiction.
Tracie Peterson (http://www.traciepeterson.com) She's written some really wonderful, lose-yourself-in-the-story historical novels. Plus, she's a stickler for a historical research, so I always learn something when I read her books.
Aisha Ford was home-schooled from the second grade through high school. She is now in her mid-twenties, living in the St. Louis suburbs. A graduate of Christian Leadership University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in ballet and modern dance, she is the author of six novels.