Hi! I’m Donna Meredith.

 I grew up in Clarksburg, a small town in central West Virginia, and loved reading and writing at an early age. I majored in English and journalism at Fairmont State College in West Virginia with a degree in education, at my father’s insistence, because “Women can always get jobs teaching, and you can’t earn a living writing.”

Sure enough, when I graduated I found a job teaching high school English and journalism, first at Grafton High School and later returned to my alma mater, Washington Irving. (Don't you hate it when a parent is right?) They were great kids and I'm still in touch with some of them. Would love to hear from more--I'm on Facebook, so please "friend" me and tell me what you are doing now. While teaching, I earned a Masters in Journalism from West Virginia University. 

Southbound

One winter my husband, daughter, and I woke up sick of shoveling snow and thawing frozen pipes with a hairdryer. We moved South. That was a couple of decades ago. My mother still wants to know when we are moving back.

Next I cranked out a crime prevention newsletter for the Florida Attorney General’s Office for a year. It was fun to interview and write stories again. But then it was back to teaching—better pay. (Don’t you hate it when a parent is right?) I taught English and started newspaper and TV production programs at Thomasville High School in South Georgia. I also taught other teachers to use technology during the summer. While I was teaching, I had no time to call my own and had less time than I would have liked to devote to my family. My life consisted of grading essays and proofing copy for the paper. I enjoyed watching my students grow as writers and as human beings. My newspaper staff won Best in State four years out of 16—not too shabby. They were a great bunch of kids and many went on to careers in communications. I was at THS 19 years. During that time, I earned an Education Specialist degree by taking classes at FSU and NOVA University. 

The Writing Life

In midlife, we often re-examine our life goals and measure our progress, sensing new urgency to finish unfinished business. When I learned I could apply my unused sick leave toward retirement, I bolted out the school’s front door to start my long-delayed career as a writer.

Immediately I signed up for a couple of graduate fiction writing workshops at FSU and stocked my bookshelves with how-to writing books. I struggle daily to perfect my craft. Over the past five years, I have written several drafts of two novels and a half dozen short stories. A writing partner and a critique group I found through the Tallahassee Writers Association have been invaluable sources of feedback as well as close friends who may be the only people who know which parts of my stories are true and which parts are completely invented.

Because I want other writers to have the same opportunity to connect with a writing community, I became an officer in TWA.

Family

My husband is a CPA, who works for the Department of Revenue designing tax collection software. He makes me laugh, is a technology whiz, and does the dishes besides. What more could I ask for? My daughter (Coca Cola management) and son-in-law (classical guitar professor) live in Atlanta. They have blessed me with a grandchild who mastered making frog and fish faces, as well as monkey and truck noises, at an extremely early age. Did I mention he was practically born playing guitar? Definitely a genius! He currently leans toward immitating the bad guys like Spiderman's nemesis, The Green Goblin.  But there is hope that he will return to the "light" because he occasionally will assume the role of Batman as well.  A Pomeranian rounds out my family and brings joy to my life.