I grew up in small midwestern towns in the state of Kansas. Throughout my childhood when I was in trouble, my parents’ would ground me from reading. Now, before you judge them for this, I must confess that I did read A LOT. This habit kept me from doing many of the things I should do, like chores, and obeying my parent’s instructions. Also, reading really was one of the few things they could take away from me that was a punishment (I often hid books in the towel cabinet in the bathroom so I could get a chapter in on bathroom breaks). They did not use this same tack with my brother and sister, who were very different from me and had to be grounded from…other things.
I was a library aide in high school, loved forensics, and English was always my favorite subject. College led to an English major, and in my junior year I decided to pick up a teaching license so that I could get a job more easily right after graduation. I taught English, speech, and coached forensics in a junior/senior high school for five years.
After I married (a awesome guy…who also likes reading) and started a family, I left teaching full-time to stay home and finish my Master’s in Education.
I have two beautiful boys who’ve reintroduced me to the beauty of picture books and children’s stories.
Both boys are in school full-time now, and I’ve returned to teaching in a local middle school. Love it.
As many readers do, I’ve gone through different seasons of reading. There was a time in life when I read mostly romance, or mystery, or thrillers. As I’ve gotten older, my tastes have matured and changed. I am quite eclectic in my choices now. Also, I’ve begun to enjoy nonfiction genres a great deal more than I ever did in youth. All of this reading background and experience led me to its inevitable conclusion. Writing.
I’ve always been a writer, but I didn’t always think of myself as one. Over the past few years I discovered a love of writing that has developed into a passion.
I’m under no illusions. This will be long journey. But I love the scenery.
R. J. Koehn