One of my writing inspirations

From a young age I have loved reading.  My mom always read to me every night before bedtime.  By the time I was in 2nd grade I was reading "Little House on the Prairie books to myself.   While other kids were busy playing outside in the summer - baseball, kickball, hide and seek - I had my nose stuck in a book.  While I've learned to embrace my athletic side... (in my pre-Sweet Pea life I completed a couple marathons, sprint triathlons, and biked  to work when the weather is nice).  Not much has changed regarding reading.  I am an avid reader.

I have also been writing since a young age.  THIS I also blame on my mother.  In third grade I had TERRIBLE penmanship.  I wasn't really too keen on the cursive thing.  My grade school made a big deal about it.  Sloppy penmanship was not acceptable.  (Looking back now, I see myself as a bit of a trend-setter.  Turns out I was right - there really isn't a need for cursive after all!  So THERE Ms. Roy!!!)  Due to the school's high expectations regarding penmanship, my mom laid down the law.  I would need to spend time EVERY DAY of the summer working on my penmanship.  (she was a bit of a slave-driver).  She came up with some possible themes for stories.  I could write about whatever I wanted.  But it needed to be neat enough for her to read it.  I actually had fun writing the stories!  A number of years ago, I decided that those stories weren't really worth hanging on to - so I tossed them.  It was a poor decision and I've regretted my lapse in mental judgment ever since.  But in those first years of reading and writing... a love for the craft was born.

While I'm still working hard to perfect my "craft".  I aspire to some day make a career - or a career of sorts out of writing.  I thought I would take a few moments to share my favorite author with you.  He inspires me to continue to tell my stories and to keep plugging away at my prose.

I first came across Michael Perry when I was hanging out at the Tattered Cover in Denver, Colorado.  It was a lazy Saturday and I was browsing through the "New in Hardcover" section.  I didn't have the intention to purchase... back then I was the type of girl who borrowed books from the  library or shopped the bargain book section.  Too many books and too little time - there was NO NEED to go hog wild and spend top dollar on a new hardcover book!

I happened to pick up a BookSense 76 pamphlet.  (Looks like the group is now called Indie Bound) This organization is a group of independent booksellers (the Tattered Cover is one) who recommend books that they are LOVING.  On the list was a little known author by the name of Michael Perry.  His new book Population 485:  Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time was getting rave reviews.  The book looked intriguing and it was about Wisconsin (my homeland).  I decided in a heartbeat that I needed to have it and that I would (GASP) pay full price and give er a read.

Micheal is one of the most poetic, insightful, humorous writers I have come across.  The book spoke to me in ways that no other book has.  At times I was laughing, at times I was crying.  At times I was doing both... while I was on the commuter train to work... there were a few strange looks.

I had finally found someone who experienced the Mid-west as I had.  And had found humor in the craziness of the small-town life.  He was able to express how communities are formed over the emergencies that occur... He reminded me of home - and made me appreciate where I came from... in ways that I didn't think were possible.

This book is one of the few books I go back to again and again... and again.  Michael has written a few other books since Population 485 hit the scene.  I'm also a big fan of COOP:  A year of Poultry, Pigs, and Parenting.  I appreciate this book for his sentimental look at becoming a dad... I was reading it at a time when we were "Sweet Pea Free" -- but I've also come back to this book again with the new eyes of being a mom.  It's just as beautiful as it was the first time I read it - but I appreciate it in different ways, now.

Some day I hope to be as great of a writer as Mike.  Until then, I make every attempt to attend his book readings when he graces us with his presence in Denver... and I continue to wait (somewhat impatiently) for his next book.   And as I wait, I continue to read and re-read his books in print... in the hopes that some day my "writer's voice" will be half as beautiful as his.

If you've never read anything by Michael Perry.  I encourage you to do so.  Start with Population 485.  I don't think you'll be disappointed.

--bf