Marianne lives in a small, one-horse town, and likes it that way. Until recently, there was no movie theater, and she has no TV, so she reads books and scribbles poems and stories much of her spare time. 

Other than that, long jaunts in the woods provide story and character inspiration. Quite a few ideas have bounced into her head as her feet amble along wooded and floral paths. A congenial listener, the author has been known to have lengthy conversations with the creatures in residence—deer (professed champions of forestry rights, but they lament no one is listening), squirrels (usually miffed about just about everything). She recently discovered that robins have quite a lot to say but has trouble with their accent. 

Marianne also enjoys photographing trees, flowers, and brooks. They know how to hold still. She’s not so good at birds. Just hasn’t figured out how to politely ask them to hold still.

The author also ponders what would get more people reading and threatens to write about it in her blog—if only people who don’t read, would read it. 

To further her education, Marianne matriculated, taking in a master’s in writing program, many light years ago, and constantly apologizes to herself that it’s taken so long to get around to publishing.