Of Gifts and the Goddess author, Michele Venne, didn’t start out as a writer.  Though she enjoyed writing through high school, completing her dual degree in Special Education and Elementary Education took up a majority of her time.  Family and friends offered positive comments on her yearly letters, which was the only creative writing that she was able to do for several years.  In the summer of 2003, there was a hint of a story that swirled through her mind.  When she wasn’t tutoring or conducting teacher training, Michele sat down to write the Prologue and first three chapters of the manuscript.  This sat for over three years, until a creative writing class was taken at a local community college.  For one of the assignments, the Prologue and completed chapters were polished up, and another five were written.  And, yes, these too, sat for awhile longer.  June of 2008, after moving into a new condominium, Michele sat down every day and wrote.  Then came the rewriting and editing, and some more rewriting.  Of Gifts and the Goddess will be available in December 2008.  Michele’s second manuscript, Of Dolphins and Desires (not a sequel), will be in print Spring 2009.  The third manuscript, Of Stars and Secrets (still not a sequel), will be available Fall 2009.

When she isn’t sitting at her dining room table with her pen flowing across notebooks to be filled with stories, Michele teaches full time in a Resource program at a high school in Phoenix, Arizona; practices yoga; and rides her horse.