About Venita |
Q&A With Venita
Bios come in all shapes and sizes. Your publishing company asks you to submit information about yourself so they can create the
best image of you to present to the public, giving enough information to satisfy the curious, while maintaining the writer's privacy.
And, to their credit, they do a remarkable job. I'd like to thank my friends at Brown Books for their hard work and pursuit of
excellence in everything they do.
Following the official Bio on the book jacket of The Reluctant First Lady, I've filled in a few of the blanks with much
larger brush strokes.
Venita was fated to be a writer. I don't know if I was fated to be a writer or not, but from the time I could talk I
began telling vivid stories about adventures I had supposedly taken. When I learned to write, my oral stories were replaced
by the awkward ball and stick printing of a first grader. My first story was about identical twin sisters who played tricks on
everyone. Naturally, that scenario was hilarious to a six year old.
She was named for the character in a book her mother was reading at the time of her birth. Absolutely true. My mother
named me after the heroine of the book she was reading when she was pregnant with me. It seems a rather capricious way to name a
child. However, I suppose I should be grateful she wasn't reading My Friend Flicka or Genghis Khan.
As a young girl, she spent so much time at the library that the librarians would save books for her almost daily visits.
Also true. I was an avid reader and devoured books, but I was also one of he original “latchkey kids,” which left me with a lot
of free time on my hands. Therefore, I spent a great deal of time at the library where I was always welcomed. The librarians did,
in fact, put aside books for me that always captured my imagination or taught me something new. I will be eternally grateful to
those nurturing women.
She began writing stories in the first grade that her mother patiently read. My mother did very few things patiently,
let alone read my stories. But she listened or pretended to listen to me, which is remarkable given that she was a full time
working mother and also handled all of the housework and the cooking.
Next comes what I like to call the name, rank and serial number information. I'm married to a wonderful man, David.
We have three sons, Eric, Michael and Sean, three amazing daughters-in-law, Dorienne, Alana, and Jaclyn, and two adorable
granddaughters, Mila and Hannah. I have a BA with majors in English, History and a minor in Art, and an MA in Administration.
I've worked in public relations, taught elementary school for six years and was an elementary principal for twelve additional years.
My life experience as a wife, mother, and working woman has given me a lot of opportunities to observe human nature.
My desire is to create stories that are interesting and unusual, put characters into extraordinary situations, and capture their
reactions with authenticity and emotional resonance. I hope you enjoy The Reluctant First Lady and my other books as they are published.
Click here for a Q&A with Venita.
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