Writing, or rather storytelling, has always been a love of mine. Being a hopeless romantic, most of the stories I create will define my ideal; falling in love and overcoming life's challenges to make it work. This fantasy fiction writing is a little different from the usual romance stories which I love to write. I have found that adding a little adventure and mystery helps me to enjoy the crafting of a story.

I am an old TV baby, growing up in the 50's. I can remember when we didn't have TV and the excitement of getting our first black and white screen back in 1954. Serialized stories were still a big part of radio and early television. I have loved the 'cliffhanger' ever since. It allows the imagination to run wild while waiting for the sequel.

I have been a big fan of Beauty and The Beast since the inception of the TV show in 1987. The recent release of the DVD's was instrumental in motivating me to write into the present time to give Jacob his mother back. The storyline was inspired by a friend who took a similar journey. I hope I have done her justice while remaining true to the characters in her life and those of BATB. The concept of lost and found has a great deal of resonance for me. I believe that in birth we lose something of our connection to a greater world and our time spent on earth consists of a yearning to reconnect either with people who drive our life story or a desire to find a higher energy power which to some is known as 'God'.

I did not have the heart to rewrite what others have done in the past. We can't alter history but we can refashion the future from our vast store of knowledge. I have taken an author's license in some areas to advance the story but I try to stick as close to real life facts as possible. Many of my stories will have themes based on the lives of real people who have inspired me by their courage. In my work as a nurse, I have been privileged to hear many tales, both good and challenging, from patients and clients over the last five decades. They are stories which need to be told.

When Beauty and the Beast first aired, I was so taken with the love story, it pushed me to fulfill a lifelong dream of writing my own book. I find it strange that I did not get the book published for twenty years. I put down the manuscript when the show ended. When I was able to sit and soak up the BATB stories on DVD, I was again inspired to refine and complete that book. At the same time, I felt an obligation to create online BATB story of my own using some characters from the past as well as new ones who invade my dreams asking for release.

I was able to publish my book, The Will to be True/In the Shadow of the Blackbird back in 2010. It is also crafted as a complex love story and set locally in Southern Ontario. Visit my blog page for more information. http://

July/2011 update My new novel, Suspect, Love published in May 2011 is now available from http:// or . More information can be found at my blog site above or at http://

I love to receive comments and reviews. I will try to answer anyone who has a question about my stories and I welcome your emails. Thanks for reading1

I have added quite a few stories since I started back in 2007. I can't believe that over ten years I have written 12 books for BATB and three novelettes with two spin off characters, Helene Halter, and Howard Smerconish. She is Cathy's grandmother, a music teacher from Montreal Canada and he is the fictional Governor of New York. You can find these stories in Fiction Press: 'The High Water Mark, Sorrows Into the Night, The Triangulated Heart.' Some of the characters and situations overlap. Hope you enjoy those stories too.

Very soon I will be starting my 13th book 'Whispers From The Edge of Darkness'. I look forward to getting started.

Vetivera

p.s. The avatar is Vasily Stepanov, a Russian actor recently featured in the movie Inhabited Island, who looks just like the Jacob of my stories. I change his image from time to time to give a different vision of his life. The numerous pictures of him help me to formulate how he/Jacob would look in any given situation. I wish him well in his burgeoning career. When I started writing these stories there were only a few photos of him from the movie. Now there are videos and images in all situations and he is on Facebook, happy to interact with fans. He is quite a handsome young man. April/11 is a recent update of photo...this young man is growing into his manhood just as magnificently as the Jacob of my stories.

2019 Update: I read via FB that Vasily had a terrible accident. My thoughts and prayers for his physical recovery and Mental health and wellbeing.