I’ve always had stories going on in my head, almost like movies progressing from scene to scene. Imagine my surprise years later when I found out everyone didn’t have these stories going on in their heads, but instead it was a gift that only writers possessed.
In the 80’s, I took a Fiction Writing Class at a Community College and wrote three chapters to my first romance novel, Married By Saturday. Then life got in the way and I didn’t make my way back to writing until the mid-90’s when I attended a book signing by some local romance authors at a Barnes and Noble. They mentioned a local writers group, Midwest Fiction Writers, which was associated with Romance Writers of America, a national support group for romance writers.
I promptly joined both groups. Over the last years, I’ve attended the National RWA conferences in Atlanta, Denver, New York City, Reno, Orlando, San Diego and New Orleans, the Romantic Times Conventions in Houston, Daytona Beach, Kansas City, Las Vegas and Chicago, and the Malice Mystery Writers Convention in Washington DC.
After earning a BA in Marketing from Concordia University, I decided to pursue a Masters in Creative Writing from Hamline University. The master’s writing program was something I wanted to do for me and enabled me to gain a broad background in writing, by dabbling in different writing genres.
My working career has brought me full circle, as I started in banking in the 70’s and work for a local credit union now. In between I was extremely fortunate to be able to work for Northwest Airlines for a number of years which allowed me to travel around the world and extensively in the U.S. There’s nothing better than going to the airport and being able to get on any plane with an open seat. Traveling is the best place to collect story ideas!
Being a first generation Norwegian-American, my life has been filled with Norwegian customs and heritage. And being raised in Minnesota, which is filled with Scandinavians, I can’t help including these traditions in my stories. Oh, and did I mention I love anything that has to do with Vikings and Viking Ships. It also just happens that the Minnesota NFL football team is named, Vikings. There is a new Viking stadium being built for them that will include a Viking Ship. How lucky can I get? Minnesota gets it’s very own Viking Ship! So it shouldn’t surprise anyone to know I have two Viking Time Travel series brewing. Only wish there were more hours in the day!
My days are filled with travel, Norwegian events, writing and, of course one other thing, let’s not forget that banking pays the bills for now!
Rose Marie Meuwissen, Writer