Lori Ann Beam

Lori Ann Beam grew up in the suburbs of Baltimore County, Maryland, in a close-knit family. Through hard work and perseverance, many opportunities presented themselves. Her family are all longshoremen at the Port of Baltimore, including her grandfather, whose family legally immigrated from Poland. The patriarch of the large Wozniak family recently passed away, followed by his wife just six weeks later. Strength and a strong work ethic were passed down by her father. Lori’s siblings have also followed the family tradition of becoming longshoremen. Her younger sister worked her way from the piers into the corporate world, and her second sister is a successful crane operator. Not only is she one of the young female operators, but Shannon is also one of the first women to operate the heavy Gantry cranes. Lastly, Rob, the baby of the family, is bright and intelligent, and whatever he puts his mind to, he succeeds. He is currently pursuing his pilot’s license while also working as a crane operator and longshoreman.

Lori’s family background shows determination and success. Rob was an accomplished male model and actor in his earlier years. He’s also a trained Western and English horseman. To say this family is determined to succeed is an understatement. Lori graduated and immediately entered trade school at Rice Aviation Maintenance Technical School, where she earned her Airframe and Powerplant license from the FAA. She went on to work as an emergency flight mechanic for American International Airways and Kallita Airways. When flights were rerouted away from Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI), she transitioned to research and development at Ciena Corporation, where she helped develop wireless communication technologies that are still in use today.

When 9/11 happened, Lori’s world was rocked. The company released her while she was on maternity leave, just days after delivering her daughter. Trying to adjust to being a stay-at-home mom, she quickly realized it wasn’t for her. She explored working on the piers, where being a longshoreman benefited her growing family.

Lori caught the writing bug early on. As a child, she loved writing stories and poems. Her mother once expressed concern about the dark nature of her poetry. Lori found writing to be a way to express her emotions. As she grew older, around the age of 13, she would eavesdrop on her mother and aunt's conversations about the latest romance novels they’d read. Intrigued, she sneaked those books in the middle of the night, marking her pages with thread or lint. She became more bold, eventually carrying the books to her room. She became hooked on authors like Kathleen Woodiwiss and Johanna Lindsey, and she felt honored to learn from them and understand what it took to make it as an author. She was saddened when she heard that Woodiwiss had breast cancer and eventually passed away.

At 17, Lori penned Cliff’s Edge. While the first draft was rough, it was discovered at the Library of Congress. After some editing, the book was released, but the reviews were less than stellar. One reviewer was particularly harsh, and it nearly made Lori give up on her dream. When she spoke with her editor, they discovered that the reviewer was a nun, which brought a mix of laughter and tears. Lori wondered why the marketing team hadn’t circulated the book properly. Cliff’s Edge only needed one more sex scene to be classified as erotica, but Lori credits the book’s lack of sales to the marketing team’s failure to target the right audience.

The stories never stopped coming. Lori writes almost every time she gets a break. Wila was written in just two weeks for her best friend Kim. She also wrote a Western comedy, sharing the first two to four chapters with Kim, who was a long-term substitute teacher at the time. Kim loved it, so Lori went on to write a romance thriller for her. Kim wanted a good ghost story, so Lori wrote 13 Huntington Terrace. Kim became addicted to it. Positive reactions like these encourage Lori to keep writing, regardless of other people’s opinions. Not all stories will check all the "feel-good" boxes, but they inspire Lori to continue.

Lori has been married to her husband, Steve, since December 1995. They have four children and one grandson. Lori still lives in the area where she grew up. She thanks you for your support and interest in her work and is open to conversation.