But for a twist of fate, Derious Cooper and Evan Jones might never have met...

The most common advice given to writers is the cliche "Write about what you know." When I began writing The Time Of My Life what I knew about was at risk kids and running track. I was teaching at a middle school in a suburb of Memphis and our school's population came largely from an area that was neither city nor county, and where there was a lot of gang activity, poverty and kids at risk for failing. At the same time my two sons had been running track and had begun to excel at distance events. I spent my weekdays teaching these at risk kids and my Saturdays at the track. When my oldest son began running for the high school team my husband I "divided and conquered" so one of us could be at each child's meet. What I discovered was that many of the kids I taught also ran for the community track program on rival teams to my kids (and later at rival high schools.) I made it a practice to root for my students and praise their successes or encourage their losses, even if they were running against our team. My efforts gave me a credibility with my students that I would not have had otherwise. It gave me something to talk tp them about at school, which led to my being able to better influence them academically and artistically (I taught art!). I realized these kids many people dsmissed at failures were very good at running. And when someone noticed, they gradually started doing better in other areas. The idea for a book started to grow...

And this is how it turned out.....

Derious Cooper is and African American teenager who is at risk for failing and on the fringes of gang activity. Evan Jones is a wealthy white doctor and former Olympic hopeful whose injuries have left him unable to run. When Evan begins coaching a high school track team on which Derious is the star runner, they discover that they are connected by more than their love of running. As they forge a relationship that crosses racial barriers and tests strength of character, each deals with events of the past which tie them together and affect their futures. Theirs is a story about overcoming adversity, accepting challenges head on and changing lives. (Back cover copy, The Time Of My Life.)