Billie Jean Grable is the fourth girl and middle child of seven children. Named after her Uncles, Bill and Gene, she has approached life in the offbeat way she was named, embracing the different and sometimes separate worlds she finds herself in.

Ms. Grable’s first writing course was a memoir class at a local college. She was driven by issues she experienced in childhood and was sure writing her memoir would provide her reconciliation with her troubled past.

The next creative writing course, Literary Journalism, paved the way to her first publication in a local magazine and a by-line on the index page—plus the thrill of seeing her work in print.

Publishing her memoir remained an obsession, until an interview she read about an actor’s memoir, jolted Ms. Grable’s reality. The actor’s instant answer to the question, “Is there anything you regret telling?” made her realize that once in print, your life became public record.

She turned her story into ‘fiction’ and spent several years studying the craft at the local college. When it became clear she wanted more than what the school could offer, she applied to the Advanced Commercial Fiction class at the University of Washington and was accepted into the program.

The change in venue brought Ms. Grable’s characters to life and they told her very clearly, that they had learned from her mistakes (thank you very much), and wanted an opportunity to make their own, unique blunders. The class provided them life and an excerpt in the Goodfellow Press anthology, New Voices V.

After many, many final versions, The Weeping Willow Sings was born and is Ms. Grable’s first novel.

Ms. Grable is a self-professed geek and has worked in high tech for over twenty years. She currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with her cat and three dogs. She is an avid baker, artist and gardener, and cherishes her time with her two daughters, grandson and granddaughter.