Keebale Finnerlin

In a past life: 

I went to grad school, taught in public school, had a kid. Decided to homeschool. Had three more kids. Homeschooled all of them until they went to college. I wrote educational curriculum (history and culture) and taught it online before it was fashionable, back when we had to work out all the kinks. I published under the banner of 4 Little Penguins Publishing.

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Why I started writing fiction:

It probably should say "Why I started publishing fiction"... I'd always been writing fiction. I've always said, and stand by this, 'as long as I have pencil and paper I'm good to go'. Fictional stories have always been my passion. I read voraciously when I'm not writing. With my last child in their last year of high school, I began pursuing my passion. You know, following the advice I've been giving my children all these years.

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Earliest writing memory:

Sitting on a stool in my dad's garage writing Strawberry Shortcake adventures while he worked on a car.

We've all done that, right?

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What I write: Almost everything I write has an element of fantasy to it. There are a few things that don't, such as my historical fiction stories, where I write YOU as the character. In all of my writing, I have characters that reflect issues we face in our current world. Someone bullied for differing from the 'norm' of their species. Someone feared because of how they appear, and ignorance. A species relegated to menial tasks by those that consider themselves superior. My characters fight to be understood for who they are and to be allowed to live freely, as they would like. My stories reflect our world make-up in their variety of skin tones or markings, differently abled, and relationships that cross genders. Vampirium vampires have no gender at all.