Beginnings...

It is amazing how things in the universe come together when the timing is right.

I have wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember. I started working on my first mystery novel in 3^rd grade. I think I managed to write two or three chapters before I was easily sidetracked by something else; I was only eight after all.

I’ve had other starts and stops between then and now, but in all this time, my desire to write has never dissipated despite being put on the back burner for a variety of reasons like graduate school, child bearing, bill paying … you know how it goes.

Today has been a pivotal day. Today is the day I begin my journey toward the actual writing and completion of a book.

I am both amazed and overwhelmed by the possibilities.

One morning not too long ago, I woke up with the idea about writing a book that focuses on the stories behind people’s tattoos. I let it mull around in my mind and decided that this is a journey I need to take – that I want to take.

My working plan, which I assume will evolve along with the process, is to interview anyone and everyone interested in sharing the story or meaning behind their tattoos. It is as simple as that. They talk. I listen. I record the interview. I write it out. I edit it. I take photographs. Then, at some point, I take all of these amazing stories and incredible art work and I craft them into a book. This is my ultimate goal.

People and words are my professional passions. I’ve had careers in teaching (English) and counseling. My most recent “profession” has been newspaper reporting and being a full-time, hands-on Mom 99.9% of the time. Writing, for me, has been the perfect marriage of things I love.

Growing up in Miami, Florida laid the foundation for what I think is an inclusive perspective when it comes to people and the world around me. I think people should be celebrated for their differences and those things that make them special and unique.

Each of us has a story to tell. Truth be told, we have more than one. As a reporter, and when I worked as a counselor, I love listening to people’s stories – where they’ve been, what they’ve done, how they’ve gotten from Point A to Point B and the journey in between.

For the last two years, I have been working as a reporter for the Pickens County Courier based in Pickens, SC. My regular beat finds me covering local government and school board meetings, but some of my favorite pieces and assignments are the human interest stories.

My editor has always given me a lot of latitude when working on our features section. In June of 2011, I came up with the idea of spending time at Amber Island, talking with the tattoo artists and some of the clients coming in to have tattoos done. The culmination of work wound up with a Lifestyles Page cover story and art work which, to this day, remains one of my favorite pieces.

Tattoos have fascinated me since I was a teenager – about 15 to be exact. That is the year that I will forever mark in my mind as my year of rebellion against the norm. I started listening to The Doors, Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix. I read J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Zora Neal Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God and Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. I started to lose the weight that had made me a social outcast and scapegoat for insecure bullies.

Without knowing it, or being consciously aware, I began a long journey toward acceptance of myself for being different: for not having a Dad in my life, for not being the perfect size two, for not being terribly athletic, artistic or the class valedictorian. 

The day I turned 18, my friend Jimmy, (who was in his 20s) bought me a bottle of Absolut Vodka. I mixed it with Diet Coke and lime – had a couple of drinks – and decided I was ready to go get the tattoo I had been wanted for the last three years and knowing, full-well, that my straight-laced, conservative mother was going to flip!

Since that time I have acquired more tattoos – each of which marks a milestone in my life or, for me, is a remembrance of some moment when I learned something about myself, who I am, who I want to be. If anyone asked, I have a story that accompanies each piece of art work on my body.

I can’t begin to fathom – well, obviously I can since I’ve had this idea – the number of stories out there begging to be told.

Fortunately, as I have gotten my own tattoos, I have developed a friendship of sorts with two amazing tattoo artists at Amber Island in Easley – Moto and Jesse. As soon as I discovered this idea rattling around in my brain, I ran it by Moto. Amber Island is his shop, and I hoped that he would embraced my idea – the way he has embraced our friendship – and that he would allow me the opportunity to try to make a go of this project using the client base from his studio.

He dug the idea. As did Jesse. I totally adore those guys and I can already tell I am going to be thanking them immensely for this opportunity to allow me to grow as a writer and human being. I can feel the love and support already – just in these beginning stages. This is going to be a most excellent journey.

Anyway, I stopped by the shop today with the initial paperwork and project scope and explanation I put together. My idea was well received and, I think, as they say, we are in business. I have my first interview scheduled for this Friday.

I will be as diligent about updating this blog as possible. Please check back often. Feel free to comment, share a story, offer suggestions, and lend your support and enthusiasm. I am wide open and ready to receive everything that the universe wants to throw my way.

I’m ready for a new beginning. Bring it on!