Here's where you can find personal information about me, recent updates on my writing (including a few links to samples of my writing around the 'Net), diabetes notes, and fun stuff about my beloved pets. If you are here to find out about my writing, click here to view my Writing History and Resume'. Note: I am notoriously slow to update that page and haven't added any new information for months. Rest assured, I have been busy writing and am adding up the clips! When you depend on your writing to help pay the bills, believe me, you write, write, write.

Speaking of writing, I have been freelancing for more years than I care to remember -- about 20, at least. Writing is great fun, incredibly hard work, and is something I'm passionate about. Being a writer is not easy, but it's what I always wanted to be when I grew up. Does this mean I have to grow up now?

If you want to pick up a copy but can't find it in your local stores, you can order one here: The Nature Chest. It is also available at Amazon.com, WalMart.com, and www.bn.com. Simply do a web search and you'll turn up lots of places to order from.

The Conure Handbook is available from Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, and Borders, too. If they don't have a copy in your local store, ask them to order one for you. They have a supply in their warehouse. Also be sure to check with your favorite pet stores and chain stores.

And here's a special free gift to anyone who purchases a copy of The Conure Handbook! Just E-mail me at anne_c_watkins[AT]yahoo.com , let me know where and when you purchased the book, and how you'd like your FREE personalized bookplate to be made out! Of course, I'll also need for you to include your postal address so I can send your free gift. (Your address will not be used for anything other than sending your free bookplate.) For more information on the free gift, or about the book, E-mail me at anne_c_watkins[AT]yahoo.com . Replace [at] with @ when emailing. I'd also love to hear your comments on the book!

Personal Stuff

Meet My Wonderful Grandchildren

Chelsea Lynn Richey was born on December 11, 2003. She weighed in at 10 pounds, 7 ounces, measured 21" long, and had a head full of thick, curly silvery blonde hair. Bailey is a big brother! Born February 7, 2002, Bailey Lane Richey weighed 9 pounds, 11.1 ounces and measured 21 1/2" long. He had thick sandy blonde hair and dark blue eyes. Bailey and Chelsea have an awesome big brother, six-year-old Tyler, who is a fabulous human being and a very intelligent young man. Thank you, God, for these precious gifts! If you'd like to see a picture of Laura with my wonderful granchildren, click here to see their page.

Other Important Stuff

My husband Allen and I live in Alabama, USA, where we have a home in the country. I love it here! There are lots of woods and fields around, and we have a nice large yard. It's very quiet and peaceful -- in the summer, we can listen to the whipporwills call at night, and sleep while the cicadas buzz. Wonderful!

Everyone who knows me knows how much my pets mean to me. I love my birds -- we have two parrots, or maybe I should say they have us! Rio is a blue crown conure who has lived with me for 18 years now. We also have Pancho, an orange-winged Amazon, who has shared our home for 14 years and is very vocal in his opinions. I also dearly enjoy our aquariums. We have one 28 gallon tank and a 45 gallon tank. 13 year old mixed-breed mutt Taffy is our guard dog (yeah, right...hehe!). I'm going to post a page of pictures soon.

Anyone who knows me also knows my views on domestic violence. Domestic violence is ALWAYS WRONG. I'm not in the habit of posting my written material on the Internet (but I will link to web sites that have purchased my work and display it) but this case is different. I am posting an article I've written with the intention of providing encouragement and helpful ideas to anyone who is a victim of domestic violence, or knows someone who is. Please click here to read what I've prepared at this time. Later, I will feature tips on survival, what to expect when seeking refuge in a domestic violence shelter, some of my own experiences as a former domestic violence victim and now survivor, and what you can do to help.

One of my favorite pastimes is reading and one of my all-time favorite authors is Anne McCaffrey. As my friends know, and can't understand, I love dragons!! I have enjoyed many an hour lost in Ms. McCaffrey's worlds of dragonriders and their magnificent beasts.

On a more boring note, here's a bit of medical information. I have insulin dependent diabetes. I'm not terribly fond of sticking my finger to check my blood sugar, or of taking insulin injections multiple times a day, but it's a necessary evil. I also suffer from a complication of diabetes called peripheral neuropathy. This is nerve damage in both my arms and legs and both hands and feet and is caused by years of having diabetes. Know how it feels when your foot 'falls asleep' and then 'wakes up'? The needles and pins sticking in your skin feeling...well, take that and multiply it by at least 100. That's sort of what neuropathy feels like. Very painful. I'm in a sort of remission now and I have a medication to take to help control the pain. Not much fun, but it could be worse!

My daughter Laura is a diabetic, too -- she has type one diabetes, just like me. I really, really hate it for her! But she's doing very well with it. Hers isn't as hard to manage as mine for some reason and for that, I'm very thankful.

My husband is a talented bluegrass musician who has years of picking the banjo, guitar, and mandolin behind him. His recently released Civil War CD project, Battleground: New Acoustic Music Inspired by the Civil War, is packed full of new material -- instrumentals that he's written, and a song that I wrote the lyrics to! It's titled "J.W. Jacobs" and is the story of a man who mysteriously disappeared right around the time talk of the War was starting to stir. I'm happy to report that the song has gotten great reviews. It was fun to write. You can read all about Allen by visiting my other site, Welcome to WatkinsWorld! I hope you will drop by for a visit.

Need to contact me? E-mail me at anne_c_watkins[AT]yahoo.com . Replace [at] with @ when emailing. Take that, you spiders!

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Guestbook problems: 8-03-04 ~ Finally! I've installed a new guestbook. Please leave me a message to let me know that you were here. I look forward to hearing from you!

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Click here to visit Backgrounds by Marie. She created the lovely floral designs found on various pages of my site.

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