CATHY A. CORN
WHO AM I?
Welcome. I’ve been writing since my childhood, growing up in New Madison (population 1000), a small town amidst the corn fields of Ohio. In the sixth grade, I browsed through a book on writing at the library, just about my favorite place, but didn’t take it out because I knew I was already a writer. Silly kid. Books provided the magic carpet ride away from that slower paced world before the internet, even television, and all those electronic gadgets. I thrilled to the novels of Mary Stewart, her tales of a young heroine who finds intrigue, an exotic location, romance, and danger in every adventure (The Ivy Tree, This Rough Magic, etc.). So please accept my humble contributions to literature, my attempt to give back what I’ve received over the years. The paranormal novels I write are mostly mysteries with romantic elements. I’m seeking an agent to represent Crystal Clear and Blue Moon over Madagascar or a publisher who sees beauty and truth in these works. The theme of reconnecting with nature flows like a creek throughout my novels, for the electronic gadgets can destroy our link with a guidance system that never fails--the voice of Mother Earth. I’ve studied writing at conferences--Pennwriters, The Columbus Writers Conference, and the Mark Twain Writers’ Conference (with Sue Monk Kidd). A writers’ group from Community College and my Sisters in Crime have help me tremendously, as well as my brutal critique partners (you know who you are). I graduated from the Writers Digest Novel Writing Course, and have published pieces in Pennsylvania Magazine, The Pittsburgh Press Sunday Magazine, Bluegrass Unlimited, and Annabel. Best of all, I live near Pittsburgh with woods behind the townhouse, with my husband, Alan, and our pets Geebles, Missy, and Bella who make connecting with nature an everyday event. | WHAT! PARANORMAL FICTION!!! Once I mentioned to an acquaintance that I wrote paranormal fiction and she stared at me the way my husband fixes upon a stink bug crawling up the living room wall. Of course, that person must not have known much, for paranormal fiction is not only about werewolves and vampires, but it’s about paperbacks with fancy covers and movies and “cha-ching” for everybody involved in this multi-million dollar business. Unfortunately, I don’t write about guys sinking their fangs into willowy necks or about ferocious furry beasts that attack at night (other than my dog). My paranormal universe is tilted on a slightly different axis, where crystal balls collide with tropical islands and lovers who have crossed over to the Other Side might slip back for one last embrace. The little nature angels, or faeries, are real, even though they believe in us more than we believe in them. The overriding theme of all these novels remains fast--we need to reconnect with nature, where the impossible becomes possible, and where Spirit can whisper the answers to our troubles if only we would choose to listen. Why paranormal fiction? When I left my career as an RN in Critical Care, I trained and became a massage therapist. In the twenty years I’ve massaged and studied alternative health, my vision has expanded and new worlds have opened. How much of what I write is fiction, and how much contains more truth that I care to admit to Mainstream America or my mom? You be the judge. |