Ariele M. Huff

First published at 12, I've had a lifetime career writing articles, columns, and books. I've been editor of over a dozen periodicals (magazines and newspapers) and an acquisitions manager at a publishing house. Teaching writing and editing other people's work has been a satisfying addition to my love of words and the power they have.

* I bring my causes to my written work. When I discovered and rescued three kittens abandoned in a box, they became the subjects of a daily journal which turned into three books: Kitten Love, Learn from My Mistakes, and Crazy Cat Ladies. Those have been consolidated into Kitten Love: The Trilogy.

* Losses of loved ones and pets led me to turn my Processing Loss Workshop into a Workbook that includes touching stories from several other people as well as many strategies for healing and grieving.

* Raised to be a professional flute player, I experienced the brutal competition that serious young classical musicians often face. My book The Soloists, a romance/suspense novel, has a main character that composites my experiences with those of my cousin--an internationally famous musician since childhood.

* My blog and eBook Fifty Shades of Graying: Love, Romance, and Sex After Fifty are all about the right we have to enjoy those aspects throughout our lives. Most of the book is pieces submitted to the blog: many happy stories, some tearjerkers, and humor.

* During my years as an English as Second Language teacher, I cried almost every day over stories I heard about what had brought people to the US--wars and prejudices, hunger and hope. And I heard about what happened to them here, especially about the prejudices and disappointments. A magical realist fantasy, my novella The Queen of Mean: The Conversion of a Cold & Prejudiced Heart is my homage to the courage it takes to find a new home--the ever present potential for prejudice to melt in the presence of love.

* The Perks of Aging: Blessings, Silver Linings, & Convenient Half-Truths came from my time working with seniors writing about their lives. They all laughed hysterically when I asked what are the perks of aging...then they told me. The book is a collection of the funny and poignant answers and the poems these answers stimulated me to write.

* Making Mud Angels: Winning Strategies for Tough Times comes from the pearls of wisdom handed to me by older relatives and mentors that I'm passing along to my four daughters, 14 grandchildren, and as many other people as I can reach. They are homey aphorisms that have helped me.

* My columns Writing Corner and Poetry Corner appear monthly in Northwest Prime Time, and I invite submissions to the Poetry Corner and to my hosted segment (Sharing Stories) of the magazine's website--I use stories and poems in Sharing Stories. Contact me at ariele@comcast.net to submit those or to request a flyer of classes or for editing help with any type of written work.

* I'm currently doing weekly "Free Downloads" (except for holiday weekends) with one or more eBooks offered for free.

*I've also edited several really good books on Amazon including ones by Kathy Reeves, Thomas Hollowell, Gerrit Hansen, and Marty Gates...his Laughing with Dogs is a hoot!