Introducing. . . Marcia Mickelson

I've always been a daydreamer, making up stories in my mind. I don't know how I managed to do well in school and graduate college because I almost always had a story running through my head. At night, I used to always go to bed with a story in my head.

I finally started writing some of those stories down in high school. I bought a computer my junior year of high school and could really imagine myself being a writer one day. I began writing my first LDS novel. At that point, I'd never read an LDS novel. In fact, I don't think I was even aware that they existed.

That was put aside a few years later as I went away to school, got married, and started working full time. During that time, my writing was limited to some poems, but I didn't write another word of my novel for many years.

Children came along, and there was no time for writing. When I finally stopped working full-time, my kids were one and four years old. My mind felt free for the first time in years. I felt as if my mind was my own again, like during those high school years. I no longer had to think about work. I immersed myself in LDS novels and realized many of them were just like the one I started over 10 years before. So, I dug up my (very) old computer and spent weeks trying to retrieve the file. I finished writing the manuscript and during editing I read many writing and editing books. I came to the realization that my book was very badly written. I'd broken so many rules. So, I fixed them as well as I could. Not enough, I now realize. After revising, editing, and polishing it, I submitted it to several publishers. Luckily, it was rejected. Thank you to all those publishers for rejecting my terrible manuscript. A word of advice--Never, never submit your first manuscript.

So, I wrote a second manuscript which was much better and then I submitted it. It was also rejected. But, I was getting better. Third time's the charm, I think is what they say. My third manuscript, Star Shining Brightly, was accepted by Cedar Fort and published in 2006. The following year, Reasonable Doubt was published. Last month, Pickup Games, was published by Cedar Fort. It is a spin-off/sequel and was very fun to write.

I'm working on several other manuscripts and try to balance writing with my most important job--being a mother. I have three boys who keep me busy and make my life wonderful. My husband is very supportive of my writing, and I like to refer to him as my publicist because he tells everyone about my books.