Valerie Joan Connors

I was born in September of 1957 in Iron Mountain, Michigan, a small town in the Upper Peninsula. In the summer of 1967 my family moved to Oregon, a place I feared would be like the "wild, wild west” depicted in the movies.Sure, there were some cowboys, but I was relieved to find that the west coast was pretty much like the other places I had been, with just a little less snow in the winter.

Now I live in Atlanta, where I’ve been since 1996. I arrived in town the same week as the Olympic torch. How’s that for a welcome? I’ve spent the last two decades working with architecture, engineering and interior design firms on the financial and operations side of things. I write all the time at work, analysis of financial statements, software training materials and so on, and I have to force myself to condense my thoughts into as few words as possible. But when I’m writing fiction, I can use all the words I want. It’s fabulous!

As the offspring of an artist and a musician, it seems odd that I should have career in the financial realm, although it does explain why I choose to work with creative people. Since I’ve discovered writing as a way of satisfying my own genetic desire for creativity, I’m a much happier person.

In May of 2013 I’ll be sworn in as the President of the Atlanta Writer’s Club. I joined the AWC in 2010 shortly after the completion of my first novel, Give Me Liberty, and have been on the board of directors ever since. Next year the club will mark 100 years of celebrating writers.

Belle Bridge Books will publish my new book, Tiger Blues, in August of 2013.

Her Books from Belle Books/Bell Bridge Books:

In Her Keeping
Tiger Blues