I graduated from Samford University with a degree in pharmacy, but I’ve known all my life that I wanted to write a novel “some day”. For me, “some day” came about five years ago, when I started writing and never looked back.

My first two manuscripts remain firmly ensconced in the back of my closet (the dust bunnies tell me they really are terrific!). My third attempt became my first published novel.

A Promise to Remember was a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers Book-of-the-Year in the Women’s Fiction category, and Waiting for Daybreak was a finalist in Women’s Fiction for the Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award.

My third book, Leaving Yesterday was a finalist for the ACFW Carol Award.

Now my fifth book, Another Dawn, has arrived in stores, and I’m very excited about it!

People often ask me where I get my characters and if I base them on real people. The answer to that is: sometimes. Most characters have a little bit of someone I know in them. I use a lot of friend’s and family member’s names in my books, but I never let the character be anything like their namesake.

 

For instance—in my books a middle-aged mother and a twenty-something pharmacist shared names with my daughters, and a seventyish-year-old man shared a name with my fortyish-year-old husband.
 

The one exception I make to this rule is my pets. Dusty the dog made a cameo appearance as himself in Waiting for Daybreak, and Boots the cat makes his debut in Leaving Yesterday.
 

Popcorn the turtle, and Chance the new dog, are still anxiously awaiting their turns for momentary fame---rumor has it, the turtle has hired an agent.

               

On the homefront, I’ve been married to the wonderful and handsome Lee for over twenty years now, and our two daughters are currently braving the worlds of junior high and high school.We’ve lived in Santa Barbara for the last nineteen years. It’s a beautiful place and I feel blessed to be here (although a seventy degree Christmas still leaves me dreaming of a white one—or at least a colder one!)

When I’m not writing or reading or braving seventy degree holidays, you’ll find me trying my best to keep up with my daughters in their various theater, mascot, dance, and filled-with-activity lives.

Katie Cushman’s Bio