My primary concentration was Medieval Literature, and my secondary concentration was History of the English Language. I love literature, words, and writing! While earning my PhD, I spent a semester in Venice, Italy, which really broadened my perspective on all aspects of language and writing. I taught English 1101/1102 English Composition to hundreds of students for five years at GSU. I also taught Survey of World Literature there, as well as Academic Writing at Mercer University as an adjunct professor. My doctoral dissertation has been downloaded hundreds of times around the world, and counting! It focuses upon specific representations of fantastic beasts and monsters in Old English writings (you've perhaps heard of the redoubtable Grendel?). Over my years of teaching, I immensely enjoyed working with students to enhance THEIR enjoyment of the writing process, which many did not initially feel that they possessed. I have always taken great satisfaction from accompanying students through the various stages of the writing process until arriving at polished finished products of which they were proud to call their own. In my spare time, I love reading (not a shock there), looking up word origins, writing, traveling a bit, and spending time with my family and friends.

Reading, both fiction and non-fiction; writing; traveling, especially to historic areas; foreign language (I have some BASIC proficiency in reading Italian and French); etymologies/word origins; ancestry; long walks