But Papa was an orator, not a writer. On the other hand, my grandmother wrote everything down, no matter how mundane: lists, notes, diaries, letters. I believe that somehow those two gifts combined and got handed on to me, courtesy of my mom--who, incidentally, is the best writer I know.

I discovered my writing gene not long after I learned to read. And I wanted to read ALL the time, even though on the farm, reading was a luxury, something you did only after the work was done. And writing--well, that was a normal part of everyday living, but hardly an occupation to which one could reasonably aspire!

Still, I had to try. I sold my first story while still in my teens, but it was more than twenty years, after marriage and four children, before the second. Now, after more than twenty-five published novels, a TV movie and numerous honors and awards, I believe I may have proven that it IS possible for a child of the farms, mountains and deserts to become a successful writer.

I would like to share with you this favorite photo of myself. I believe that of all the pictures of me, this one of a grubby three-year-old making mudpies on a riverbank best reveals the "real" Kathleen. Why? Because whatever I have tackled in my life--whether it's making mudpies or raising kids or writing novels--I tend to plunge in all the way, up to my elbows, up to my eyebrows, with a gleam of joy in my eyes and nothing held back.

And I feel I have something to say to that child, and to the child who lives in all of us, which is that, risky though it may seem, allowing ourselves to love and be loved is essential, not just to happiness, but to life.