JF Ridgley is the author of eight novels and short stories set in ancient Rome and 3 contemporary romance novels. She loves researching history and writing fiction based on real stories of real people. She also loves to write contemporary romance because the ancient Roman saying of ‘Live. Love. Laugh.’ is just as true today. Learn more about JF’s books at JFRidgley.com

I love what my mother said. It’s true. I see it in my stories set in Ancient Rome and in modern-day stories. People still feel. They love. They care. They get mad….

Isn’t it amazing how smart mothers are? I overlook this growing up, rebel against them even. But time changes that. Well, it did with me. I remember my mother saying, “Times change. People don’t.” And mom was right..”

I got into writing because of, King Arthur. I have a draft of his story in the archives of my computer…somewhere. Shadows in the Mist I named it. It has a great story with all but Gawain and the Green Knight. I have all the other popular stories I could find of Arthur melded into Shadows. All but that headless knight. How can you work that one in? I still don’t know. The draft is long. Very long. And, as Ann LaMont calls it, a ‘shitty first draft’. Oh, I thought my creation was wonderful. Beautiful. Now with learning this craft of writing, OMG it’s terrible. It needs rewriting, character development, setting details, sensories. I plan to get back to it one day. I promise.

But every day times do change every day people. I can vouch for that. I think it’s called growing up and livin’ life. Even though I was an avid reader, I never dreamed I would write a book one day. My favorite books growing up were the Black Stallion series by Walter Farley and Black Beauty by Anna Sewel. My first book I read in one day was A Lantern in Her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich. God is an Englishman by R.F. Delderfield stole my heart with his draft teams. I still get tears when he describes that team climbing a rainy hill to save those men trapped in a cave on that rainy night. Yeah, I could go on.

My earlier days were about horses and eventually, Valjean – my bay American Saddlebred gelding – and I won the Reserve World- Champion Five-gaited Pleasure class in… well a long time ago. Then I got busy raisin’ kids and teaching. It was my eighth graders who sparked off my first book. Shadows in the Mist which is still not published. I have hopes to do that one day.

So, I became an author and haven’t stopped. It keeps me broke and outta trouble. So yes, I changed over time. I bet you have too. –JF Ridgley