Sue Smart (Word Weavers St. Croix) recognized she had a talent for writing at about age 14. “I was a freshman in high school. But I didn’t decide to do anything about. When I was 25, I enrolled in college at the University of New Mexico.  My first semester included Freshman Comp and my English professor, Dr. Lynn Beene, strongly encouraged me to write essays with the goal of being published.  I'm glad I took her advice!”

Sue is now in the “65-70” age range and, just last year joined a local Word Weavers chapter in Wisconsin.

“Right now, I’m working on my memoir and have completed six chapters. I hope to have another six to eight chapters done by the end of this year. The complete manuscript will consist of about 25-30 chapters.”

I wondered if she’d had anything published to date.

“I have," she said. "A few magazine articles were published in the late 90s.”

Finally, I asked Sue if there was something fun about herself that she could share, something our readers (and maybe even some of her local WW buddies) wouldn’t already know.

“I served in the U.S. Army in the mid-70s and was part of the first WAC training battalions to qualify on the M-16.”

Well, I’m impressed!

At age 12, Susan Pope Sloan, who is now in the 71-75 group, recognized she had a talent for writing. But that understanding wasn’t confirmed until she was 17 and part of a creative writing class.

One year later, at age 18, she submitted her first articles to Pathway Press, which is the publishing arm of the Church of God, Cleveland, TN, for their literature for young adults.  

After attending the North Georgia Christian Writers Conference, Susan joined Word Weavers at the young age of 68. For several years, she served as a president for Word Weavers Columbus (Georgia) and now serves as a mentor over several traditional groups.

So what did Susan’s journey to publication look like? “I published article in Christian periodicals and local newspapers sporadically for years. My first novel was rejected several times in 1990’s. But after winning the Florida Christian Writers Conference contest, I submitted a proposal to Wild Heart Books.”

And what happened after that? “I landed a three-book contract in 2022 and later a contract for two more books.”

Her latest book, Seeking Simon, was released this month! You can find out more about it by clicking on the link.

What’s something fun we may or may not know about Susan? “I’ve participated in a Victorian caroling group each Christmas since 1999.”

The Dickens you say!

At the age of twelve, Nancy Beverly (Word Weavers Orlando) was asked to write several articles for her school newspaper. But it wasn’t until she was thirty years old that she began to regularly write stories about God at work. 

“Still, I was sixty-six before I began to organize some of my stories into my first book,” she says. 

Sixty-six—the same age as when Nancy joined Word Weavers International's wonderful group of writers. 

“Preparing a book to publish has been harder than I expected, but I whacked my way through the publishing jungle. Word Weavers was a tremendous help, and a friend came alongside me to edit it. Now that it’s printed, it’s been thrilling to see the worldwide opportunities that have opened for my book to proclaim Christ in places I will never go.” 

And the name of that book?

Tire Tracks, (www.amazon.com/Tire-Tracks-When-Unmistakably-Shows/dp/B0B4HDLGPV/) which is a 2023 Ames Gold Medalist. Now, at the age of 70 years young, she's completing her second book. "Word Weavers has been invaluable in the preparation of this book too." 

What’s a little something you may find surprising to know about Nancy?  “One of my favorite things to do is boogie boarding in big ocean waves, although I don’t take the risk any more since now my bones are thin.”

Ah, with age comes thin bones . . . and wisdom!     
To know more about Nancy, visit her at NancyBeverlyAuthor.com.