Grant Boyer

I was an avid reader growing up sometimes reading as many as three books in one day. My first inkling that I might have writing talent was when I was in junior college taking a required course, English Composition 101. The Professor gave us an assignment to write a fiction story for the final exam. I wrote a story about a nuclear holocaust and how the people who survived it found my story in the rubble. I burned the edges of my paper to add some realism before I turned in my assignment. My professor liked my story so well he gave me an A on the final exam and used my story as an example to all of his creative writing classes thereafter. He continually tried to get me to join his creative writing class after this but at that time in my life I was more interested in business and music so never joined his class.

After this, I worked in government and as part of my career report writing was essential. I wrote many technical/legal reports there. During my employment at the second government agency, my two children were born. I traveled a lot for that job but when I was home, I started telling bedtime stories verbally to help put them to sleep.

One night I came up with a new story and named the characters Hatty and Barty. It was a hit from the beginning and after this my children would only allow me to tell them Hatty and Barty stories. The Hatty and Barty stories were created before email so when I traveled out of town I started writing these stories down and mailing them home so my children wouldn't have to miss out in my absence. During that same time, poetry writing became an occasional habit, and eventually I began writing an annual Christmas poem.

I have edited books for two of my friends: Break Free - by Vladimir Savchuk, and The Seven Lives of Grace - by Elena Shelest.

Many years later when I was going through old papers, I decided it was time to gather these stories together and put them into books. Since I had told these stories for years, I had many stories stored both on paper and in the deepest recesses of my memories. I put these together and am continuing to put these stories into books with the ultimate goal to complete a series of twelve books, each book representing one month's worth of bedtime stories so that there will be a year's worth of bedtime stories for children once all twelve books are in print. These Stories are called Hatty and Barty Adventures. See www.hattyandbarty.com

There is a second series now too called Maya's Adventures and can be seen at www.mayasadventures.org