Venita Louise

I come from a very interesting family, actually a bunch of mixed nuts. At a very early age, I assigned myself a very important job within the family. I had the need to keep everyone laughing and developed the knack to do it, similar to the skills of a rodeo clown. I was good at it too. I can still see them in my mind’s eye, with tears of laughter rolling down their cheeks, doubled over and holding their stomachs.

Through the years, I have studied several avenues of creativity. My first love was art, and I spent many years rendering portraits for the almost rich and famous. I quit sketching people after a time though because I was slowly becoming a cosmetic surgeon. “Make my nose smaller, straighten my teeth and give me more hair.” Consequently, pet portraits became my specialty. Doggies don’t give a hoot if their hair is thinning or they have freckles on their nose.

In the year 2000, I discovered a new passion. Writing. I adore a mystery, a good romance and lots of action. However, the ghost of the rodeo clown still lives in me and finds ways to thread humor throughout. The things I find funny can appall some people. Dark and dangerous may be lurking out there, but I can always find some piece of humor in the worst of situations. That in itself can be quite annoying. I still haven’t decided if I want to write Romance, Mystery or Horror. Not a good thing, but I’m hoping one day to capture all three in one story.

Although I still write and dabble in art, I am fulfilling a lifelong desire of performing music, quite a stretch for the autumn chicken that I am. I perform in two bands, Meridian which covers classic rock over several decades, and White Smoke, a band that formed between myself and BJ Saidi. He is not only a talented musician, songwriter, and producer, but also the love of my life.

A friend once gave me a quote that has been on my refrigerator for twenty years. It’s author is unknown but I have found it encouraging in every aspect of my life. It says, ‘Use the talents that you possess; for the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except the best.”