Hi everybody,
abc, I think you and I must be kindred spirits. I'm from Cincinnati and have traveled quite a bit - my husband is from London, England, and we got married just before he started University in Edinburgh, so we lived in Edinburgh for 4 years (where I worked with Autistic kids) and then in London for three (where I immediately learned that we were expecting our first baby, so that was that as far as formal work for me). We live in the GTA now, and I'm a stay-at-home-mom of two boys who are polar opposites of each other in everything except for the demands that they put on my time (which are HIGH).
I majored in Dance and Theatre when I was in College (I had started with Lit and Theatre, but dropped Lit when I got tired of trying to eke out something original to say about Shakespeare, and when a modern poet whose work we had read and analyzed came to our class and told us we were dead wrong about everything), and a couple of years ago I started feeling antsy and like I wanted to get out there and DO something again, so I started taking Dance classes and Acting for Film classes again. I've also always wanted to try my hand at writing, so in January of last year I hammered out a few (awful) PB manuscripts, submitted them, got rejected (of course), and discovered the SCBWI and the wonderful community there, in that order. Last spring I performed in two plays locally, although I've had to take a small step back from performing since then just because there aren't enough hours in the day. (I would give my soul to not need sleep, I swear.) I am now part of a wonderful crit group, have written a handful of much better PB manuscripts which I'm preparing to submit, have subbed to a couple of magazines, and am improving every day. My goal is to make enough through my writing to afford the headshots and classes and babysitters I'll need to continue acting, which I LOVE. When I sell my first stories, you'll know, because I'll post my headshot as my photo. :-)
My name is Ishta (EESH-tuh); it's my real name - I didn't take it from Stargate or yoga, although I do enjoy some good Sci-Fi and I do practice yoga. My parents thought they made it up, then found out when I was a few months old that it's really a name. Serendipity! I blog on writing and acting at
www.ishtamercurio.blogspot.com, (are we allowed to post links? If not, then sorry! I'll fix it if someone lets me know.), so stop by sometime.
Nice to meet you all, and I look forward to many great conversations and insightful exchanges with you!