Some people ask why I changed from selling mysteries—a series of humorous mysteries with romance and a suspense—to creating work in other genres. Here is how that came to be.

My eight-year-old granddaughter asked me to. Sweet Claire asked if I’d hurry and finish my latest mystery and write a book with her. How could I say no? What kind of book would you like to write? I asked but she didn’t know. I thought about it and discussed my ideas with her, and we came up with How to Take Care of Your Pet Ghost. The publishers I was selling to only did mysteries, and we couldn’t wait since she was so young. That’s why I ventured into self-publishing. We have a fun book for young children that Claire helped sell at various places (giving hard stares at anyone who passed by without buying our book.) She bought an iPad with her first earnings and has earned a lot of extra cash since then.

And then my mother died. She was an amazing who went to college and became a businesswoman way before her time (Mom was born in 1906.) Widowed at an early age, she pressed on with outstanding values, and when she was aged seventy, started dating. That made her way fun to be with. She exercised and lost weight and danced all evening until a month before she passed on—at the age of 102—and a half. She told everyone that half really counted once a person reached 100. She also told a man who asked her, when she was 95, how she looked so amazing and did she take many pills. “One,” she said, and when he asked what for, Mom looked at me and then told the man, “Birth control.”

Mom’s favorite dances were The Freeze and Macarena, and everybody insisted I write a book about her. They wanted to know her secrets—exercises, foods, attitudes….. I wanted to have it out while so many people still remembered her, so again I self-published. That book, which many have called extremely inspirational, is called Nora 102 ½: A Lesson on Aging Well.

Awhile after that, my teen granddaughters Brooke and Caroline, who are sisters, asked to write a book with me. “Do you just want money, or do you really want to write a book?” I asked, and both assured me they thought writing a book would be fun. They were avid readers, and we all loved the Hunger Games books. Thus my latest work was born.

Just One Friend takes place after warfare destroyed most of the country, and only one area exists where it’s known that people can survive. Because of limited resources and space, the Leader decreed that each person can have only one friend. A lonely teenage girl believes things should be otherwise. If she is wrong, she and someone very dear to her will meet with a horrible death.

Our book has done well and received excellent reviews. Thanks for letting me share my writing voyage thus far. I hope you’ll check out my (our) work.          June                        www.juneshaw.com