Tessa started telling stories when she was little, according to her parents. She then progressed to drawing and writing stories for friends and family, creating a magazine that was delivered weekly to the family (copies could be collected from the top of the piano), and making any homework assignment into a colorful tale about the topic (”A Girl of the Himalayas” received excellent marks in elementary school).
Her first writing success came in fourth grade, when the teacher read a story of hers out loud to the class. The teacher added that she might think about writing as a career. A dream and a goal was born that day. Her first story was submitted when she was 11. The story wasn’t published but she did receive a postcard from the editor, saying the story was too long for the children’s page but encouraging her to keep writing. The editor also sent a postcard stating that Tessa could order the magazine at the “Author’s price.” Those postcards are part of her writing portfolio — a constant reminder of those early beliefs in her abilities.
Her first ‘payment’ for writing wasn’t monetary but did show her the value of her storytelling skills. A high school friend would take her horseback riding for providing daily installments of “D is for Dilemma,” a teenage saga full of angst that lasted through two school years. Her horseback skills didn’t improve but she likes to think that her writing did.
She moved around while growing up and for two summers, spent three weeks in the Cayman Islands teaching Bible School. This was before the Cayman Islands were THE Cayman Islands. Two wonderful things happened to her there — 1) She had a room of her own; and 2) the room had bookcases filled with Harlequin paperbacks straight from the British Isles. Of course, reading them with the roar of the ocean just outside her window added to the ambiance. She was also drawn into the story by the authors’ words and knew this was something she wanted to do for her own readers.
More time passed, however, before she started to write her own romances. During her career as an elementary teacher, she continued to write, publishing educational materials in magazines such as
Instructor, Learning, and Teaching
Today. She wrote
A Tapestry of Reading, which includes a section on romance, and visited schools to talk about the writing process. Short stories for children were published in
Wonder Time,
Primary Treasure,
Power and Light, and other resources for students and teachers. When she left the regular classroom, she worked with hundreds of students interested in writing for children through a correspondence writing program.
During most of her teaching years, she sponsored an elementary writers club encouraging students to write. . . just as her teachers had done over the years. She also met her own hero and they started their life together.
Then she wrote her first romance. . . and her second. . . and her third. The third one, Key to Romance, was published by Avalon Books, followed by four others for the same line. Short, sweet romances similar to the ones she had read all those years ago.
When she heard about the
Everlasting Love line with
Harlequin, she knew she wanted to write those kind of stories. The big story that goes beyond the “I do’s” in a relationship. That’s her new adventure and she can hardly wait to see what happens next!
