Dear Reader,
If you're a fan of literary fiction, you've got a soulmate in me.  I adore the sound of language. Ironically, that love drew me to study language learning and deafness.  I'm a former teacher of the deaf and sign language interpreter.  

During my twenties, (in the '60s!) Revolution was in the zeitgeist. Ideas about civil rights, the war in Vietnam, and women's rights were emerging and so were ideas about the education of deaf children.   And just like any revolution, there were heroes who made sacrifices for their beliefs.   

The book I'm posting on Wattpad is the FIRST DRAFT of a book that tells of a young woman's struggle to take a stand about the war in Vietnam and the war that was occurring in her own profession.  While many of the ideas for this book resemble features of that time in history and the movements going on, this work is a work of fiction! 

"Falling Idols" is my first novel, but for several years I've been writing short stories and essays and " accidentally," wrote a children's book about a little left-pawed puppy named "Lucky."  Because I myself am left-handed, I want a look that was empowering for children who function in a world that is essentially backward to them and for all children who, at times, feel "left-out."  I was so fortunate to be able to have an amazing artist, Julie Parker from the UK illustrate " Lucky, the Left Pawed Puppy."  Julie and I never met!  I found her years ago through an ad I placed on craigslist and we communicated back and forth through email.  (We didn't even have Zoom or Facetime in the early 2000s.)

I write from our RV in an RV park in Newport Beach, CA. My husband and I downsized from a home in Minnesota in 2004 and we share our 450 ft. space with our little Shih Tzu, Henry, so we could be close to our adult children who bring us much joy.

Thank you for stopping by.  All warm wishes

Billie Kelpin 
www.billiekelpin.com
www.leftpawedpuppy.com