I am a middle-class African American female, wife of an Army retiree, mother of three, and grandmother to two very precious granddaughters. 

For the past twenty-five years, I have maintained a career 

working for the U.S. Federal Government.

Growing up as a child, I didn't particularly like to read very much... I

thought it was pretty boring.   But as I turned into a young adult, I

began purchasing those gossipy tabloids and magazines wanting

to know what was going on in celebrities' lives.  Then one day I

decided to purchase a paperback book (romance of course), a thin

one, but still a paperback, and as a result of that decision is the

reason I'm sharing my story with you now.

Over the years I've read countless romance novels.  Inspired by fellow

authors such as LaVyrle Spencer, Eric Jerome Dickey, Nora Roberts,

Heather Graham, and countless others... I said to myself - 'Jo Anne, you

can do this, you can write a book yourself.'  I knew I could be creative,

and felt that somewhere inside me lurked a good story that needed to be 

told.  So through faith, courage, and inspiration, I took pen, paper and

my computer, and over many, many, many months, completed a

manuscript.   I titled it Show Me Forever.   "Show Me," my home

being Missouri, and "Forever," because I'm a sucker for romance and love

happy endings.

Book-wise, 2003 turned out to be a very good year for me.  After doing some heavy searching on the internet, I finally found a publisher that I could be happy with.   I had to put money upfront in order to get published, but that was okay because I was confident in investing in myself, and now over 25,000 booksellers have access to my work as a paperback, and as an e-book.    

I hope you enjoy reading Show Me Forever as much as I enjoyed writing it!  My new work in the making is, Staying Friends.  It's about two neighborhood teenage girls whose friendship is tested to the limit.