GO! Our First Official Post

Welcome to ANWA's Founder & Friends, a group blog by members of American Night Writers Association (ANWA).

My name is Marsha Ward. I've been writing all my life, and decided to seek publication in the early 80s. I became a freelance writer while I continued to study and work on my fiction, in the process writing for four different LDS newspapers, and eventually working as editor on three of them. I amassed an incredible amount of published clips during that time, and became well-known in the LDS newspaper community. My brother told me an amusing story. He'd been enjoying what he termed a well-written piece and glanced up to see who wrote it. To his surprise, the article was authored by his sister, me.

I also wrote articles, short stories, and poetry for other newspapers and magazines, and finaled in, placed in, and won several contests. One of my poems, "My Mother's Bureau Drawer," took first place in three contests--two local and one national--in a two-year span of time.

My first two novels are The Man from Shenandoah and Ride to Raton. I'm polishing up the third in the trilogy: Trail of Storms, which should be out this coming spring. I'll let you know when and where it is available.

Besides being the founder of ANWA, I am a member of Western Writers of America and LDS Storymakers. I contributed to two nonfiction book collaborations: LDS Storymakers Publishing Secrets and LDS Storymakers Writing Secrets.

My family consists of four children and five grandchildren who are the light of my life. I've been a widow for eight years. I enjoy family, travel, giving talks about writing, and autographing books. One of my goals for the coming year is to sing a song each day. Another is to write at least 100 words a day.

I invite you to make comments on our blogs. Here's my question to you: Have you made resolutions or goals for the New Year? If so, what are they?