I have always loved stories. Like many of us who find magic in a well-told tale, my experience with imagination began with my mother reading to my siblings and me. I loved the larger-than-life adventures of Paul Bunyan, thrilled to the frontier tales of Davy Crockett, and delighted in Montgomery's Anne (with an e) Shirley. Each story opened new worlds, and every book became a treasured friend.

As a high school English teacher, I shared my passion for literature with younger minds. Edgar Allan Poe, Kipling's exotic landscapes, and Twain's adventures filled my classroom alongside my own tales. In creative writing, I challenged students to submit their work for publication—an adventure that transformed several into published authors themselves.

Around campfires as a Boy Scout leader, I watched rambunctious boys become mesmerized by stories of pirates, witches, bunyips, and sasquatch. Whether reading by headlamp or telling tales from memory—mysteries, semi-scary stories, and adventures from my youth (which I always admitted contained "some" element of truth)—we created movies in our minds that brought scouts back again and again, asking "Have you heard that one?"

Now, as The Fireside Storyteller, I continue sharing stories from around the world. Each culture and tradition adds its own colors to the vast tapestry of human imagination. I invite you to join me around this virtual fireside through my books, audiobooks, and social media channels, where stories continue to spark imagination and build character in hearts young and old.