I've made up stories in my head for as long as I can remember - I put myself to sleep at night when I was young by rewriting the plots and endings of books I'd read. I assumed this was normal and everyone else did the same thing until I began getting weird looks when I talked about it. It wasn't until I joined RWA years later that I realized it didn't mean I was weird - it meant I was a writer.When I was twelve I decided I wanted to write books when I grew up, but I got sidetracked by my love of animals and the need for a 'real' job, so I became a veterinarian instead. Twenty years ago, when I realized I was making up stories about my clients and their pets, I decided to try putting them down on paper. My first effort, which I still have in my office, was bad enough to make me squirm when I re-read it now, but I did learn one thing from that first manuscript - that making up stories is what I want to do.My first book was PERSONAL BEST, published by Meteor Publishing Company in 1991 for their Kismet line. After writing thirteen books for Silhouette Intimate Moments, I'm now writing Harlequin Superromances. I consider myself the luckiest person in the world to be involved in two careers that I love. But more important than either career is my family - my husband and my three daughters. We live in a Chicago suburb with a menagerie of pets.