Hi, All, A little background on me and where I'm at in my writing journey - I was a devourer of stories from an early age, especially fantasy and history (early influencers were Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, Series of Unfortunate Events, the Dear/My America books, and anything by Gail Carson Levine), and by the time I was entering high school I had been bitten by the Jane Austen bug (I may or may not have had a birthday sleepover in middle school forcing my friends to watch the full 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride & Prejudice). From the time I was around eight years old, my family visited Gettysburg yearly, and our fifth grade librarian recited for us her own, age-appropriate version of The Odyssey (I can still recite the song about the island of lotus-eaters). Thus began my history obsession. I dabbled in creative writing in middle school, but high school came around, and despite the fact that I loved to read and was developing as a strong writer, I never seriously considered publishing anything of my own (becoming an author always seemed to me an impractical or improbable pipe dream). I took whatever English literature and history courses I could throughout high school, and I applied to colleges under the Englit programs with the goal of going into the publishing field. During college, I was persuaded by some excellent professors to add history as a double-major, in addition to my Certificate in Children's Literature. Throughout college, however, I came to realize three things: first, I wanted to continue my education, second, that my love of literature was very much born from my love of history and not the weeds of literary theory, and third, I really couldn't see myself living in NYC. I interned at the local historical society and caught the public history itch. I earned my MA in History in central NY, studying early American history, gender studies, print culture, the Atlantic world, and museum studies. Afterwards, my boyfriend (now husband) and I moved to Upstate NY, and I've spent the past six and a half years doing curatorial, research, exhibits, and grant writing work for historic house museums.

Hi friends! I'm JoAnne. I've been writing stories since I was six, I love ridiculously long walks, and home is wherever I happen to be at the moment. I've done a fair bit of travel and have experienced a lot of things, but I'll never live long enough to see all the places I want to see, meet all the people I want to meet, and learn all the things I want to learn. My current WIP is a teen-superhero-origin-story-meets-psychological-thriller (how's that for dashes?) and I'm feeling utterly overwhelmed by the revision process. First drafts are a piece of cake for me, but drafts two through a million make up a vast expanse of uncharted territory that's frankly terrifying. Excited to connect with and get inspiration from y'all!

Hi Everyone! I'm really excited for this community! I think it's going to be a perfect way to connect, gain resources, and cheer each other on in our writing journeys. Glad you're here!