Anyone who really knows me is already aware of my love for competitive swimming. I truly am wet behind the ears. If they made a perfume that smelled like chlorine, I'd wear that scent everyday! (And I wonder why I'm still single.)
I started swimming at age 8 on Coney Island's swim team in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The team needed another girl for the 8 & Under relay and my older sisters dragged me to practice one morning. Diving into the crystal blue water, thrashing about with little technique, joking with teammates . . . it's where the love affair began. That autumn I joined a club team and swam year-round until I graduated from college, often practicing twice a day.
Even my shoe size (12) indicates that swimming is the sport for me. God gave me flipper feet!
(I'm on the left with my friend Katie. Look at the size of those toes!)
Here's what swimming has given me:
1) Friends. I've met so many quality individuals in this sport.
2) A strong work ethic. My coach Tim once told us, "Get ready for a tough practice. Are you a man or a mouse? A woman or a wouse?" I learned how to be a WOMAN, not a wouse!
3) Perseverance. Not everyone can swim four hours a day all year long.
4) An amazing college experience. I wouldn't have heard of Kenyon College if not for its swimming success (due to Coach Jim Steen, a wonderful mentor).
5) A career. How can I cope with anxiety before races? That question and others drew me to the field of counseling psychology.
And now swimming has given me one more gift: the upcoming Young Adult novel, Streamline. They say "Write what you know" so my first novel is about my favorite sport, mixed in with family drama, therapy, and a military murder mystery. It took a lot of hard work and perseverance to write and edit this story, and I can't wait to share my love of swimming with you.
Streamline is slated for release on 3-27-12. Stay tuned for the reveal of the cover and the video trailer, as well as giveaways!
What's YOUR favorite sport? Why do you love it?
Congratulations to Alicia and Lindsey, the big winners of the Young Adult Giveaway Hop!
Join us for the Author Blog Bounce, hosted by Omnific Publishing.
I started swimming at age 8 on Coney Island's swim team in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The team needed another girl for the 8 & Under relay and my older sisters dragged me to practice one morning. Diving into the crystal blue water, thrashing about with little technique, joking with teammates . . . it's where the love affair began. That autumn I joined a club team and swam year-round until I graduated from college, often practicing twice a day.
Even my shoe size (12) indicates that swimming is the sport for me. God gave me flipper feet!
(I'm on the left with my friend Katie. Look at the size of those toes!)
Here's what swimming has given me:
1) Friends. I've met so many quality individuals in this sport.
2) A strong work ethic. My coach Tim once told us, "Get ready for a tough practice. Are you a man or a mouse? A woman or a wouse?" I learned how to be a WOMAN, not a wouse!
3) Perseverance. Not everyone can swim four hours a day all year long.
4) An amazing college experience. I wouldn't have heard of Kenyon College if not for its swimming success (due to Coach Jim Steen, a wonderful mentor).
5) A career. How can I cope with anxiety before races? That question and others drew me to the field of counseling psychology.
And now swimming has given me one more gift: the upcoming Young Adult novel, Streamline. They say "Write what you know" so my first novel is about my favorite sport, mixed in with family drama, therapy, and a military murder mystery. It took a lot of hard work and perseverance to write and edit this story, and I can't wait to share my love of swimming with you.
Streamline is slated for release on 3-27-12. Stay tuned for the reveal of the cover and the video trailer, as well as giveaways!
What's YOUR favorite sport? Why do you love it?
Congratulations to Alicia and Lindsey, the big winners of the Young Adult Giveaway Hop!
Join us for the Author Blog Bounce, hosted by Omnific Publishing.
Comments
My swimming experience was wonderful; learned to swim in the backwashes of the Saskatchewan River. Then I nearly drowned in a lake, saved by my Guardian Angel, and haven't done much paddling since then.
I was attending aquasize in our local fitness center but my fingernails began to disintegrate. What do you do to save your hair and nails from the chlorine?
Feather
Very cool that you found your love of swimming at a young age - I'm sure your passion for it comes alive on the pages of your upcoming release. And it looks like that's not the only way swimming helped prepare you for the publishing process. Way to persevere!
Patricia, thank you! I'm super stoked about the release of STREAMLINE, which will be here before I know it. Are there many X-games sports at the Olympics? I can't wait to watch swimming broadcast from London this August. I'm sure you'd be ace at flipturns if you had a good teacher!
Cherie, I feel blessed I found swimming. I swim about twice a week now with some really great friends.
Debra, I hear deodorant can help with armpit wice. ;) I wrote Streamline in 2007, which expedited the publishing process (despite mucho editing).
Thanks for stopping by, Omnificsisters!