A. S. Wood

Thank you very much for your support. I hope you will leave a review after you read my debut novel. Reviews mean so much to a new author. Reviews are a great way to help readers figure out what to read.

Now let me tell you a little about myself

I was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon. I lived through seventeen years of war before immigrating to the U.S. where I met my husband. I studied nutrition at The Pennsylvania State University and worked as a diabetes specialist and dietitian at The Oklahoma State University Medical Center, but I always had a passion for writing. About twelve years ago, writing moved to the front burner. Currently, I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with my husband, two sons, and a goofy cat.

At school, I was bullied relentlessly, especially in middle and high school. Those were hard years, but I managed to survive. In fact, being bullied was harder on me than living through war. When my oldest son started middle school, I heard stories about bullying. That motivated me to write a novel dealing with bullying. Research followed, and I recognized the complexities and intricacies of bullying. My experience with bullying and my research were instrumental in writing the novel.

I have written and published some short stories. I have also published an upper middle grade antibullying book, The Revenge of Zachariah Kermit Higgins, and I am working on a historical novel for older teens and adults, Swaying with the Wind (current title), it tells the coming of age story of a girl orphaned during the Lebanese Civil War. So far my stories have been realistic with no magical or fantastical elements.

I read or listen to audiobooks, paying attention to the craft of writing. I write to hone my craft. To test my writing abilities, I try to publish the short pieces in literary magazines, and I participate in writing contests. For instance, I won honorable mention in the 77th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition in the mainstream/literary short story category for “That Tamed Viking.” A poem, “Urban PMS Rendition,” and a short story, “Consent in October,” appeared in Underground Voices and Down in the Dirt online literary magazines, respectively. In 2016, I won a first honorable mention from Oklahoma Writers’ Federation Inc. in the historical novel category for Swaying with the Wind. In 2017, I won third place in the same contest, the same category, and the same novel manuscript (I guess I improved). In December 2017, I won second place in Tulsa Night Writers Flash Fiction Competition. In 2019, won The Parenting Media Association (PMA) bronze award in the Personal Essay category for “My Childhood as a Bullying Victim.” The essay was published in The February 2018 issue of Tulsa Kids magazine.

http://www.tulsakids.com/February-2018/My-Childhood-as-a-Bullying-Victim/

I have also developed the contents of a website, diabetesbitsandpieces(dot)info.