"I am the inventor of Writing..."
Seshat

I have always had an affinity with Seshat, the Egyptian Goddess of Writing and Architecture. She was the Record-Keeper who recorded the deeds of humanity. As such she is associated with Libraries "Lady of the House of Books", and today is seen by some as the appropriate deity for the internet. She was also invoked in a special ceremony called the "Stretching of the Cords" in which the foundations of temples were marked out. As such her title is "Foremost of Builders". An interesting article by Rev. Dave Bean can be found at Seshat.org. While I don't agree with everything he says, I found it exciting that he notes an association between Seshat and St. Thérèse of Lisieux, "The Little Flower". St. Thérèse was my Confirmation saint. More on that here. Incidentally, there's a movie being made about her that needs some support.

But back to writing... To me writing has always been indistinguishable from reading, and I've been reading all my life. I'm not sure if the first book I ever read was Nancy Drew: The Mystery Of The Hidden Staircase or Ballet Shoes, but I do recall my mum would read me just the beginning of books and then stop. If I wanted to find out what happened... well, I just had to do it myself. By the time I was 10, I was a voracious reader, devouring everything I could get my hands on, from Tolkien to Agatha Christie to E. Nesbitt. I would make up intricate adventures involving sorceresses and impossible quests for my Barbie dolls to star in.

Then, in 1970, something incredible happened. I moved to an English School, the Convent of the Sacred Heart, and discovered that I could write down my stories and get A's for my efforts. For the first time, I conceived of a career as a writer. I would go to Oxford and study languages, like my idol Tolkien, and write the stories I most enjoyed reading. I never made it to Oxford, but I did study languages. And I've been writing ever since.