Meryl grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the only child of a single mother. She gives her mother credit for her love of books and encouraging her to write. When Meryl was in the third grade her birthday gift was an ancient Underwood with the E key missing. That didn't stop Meryl! She wrote stories and went back and put in the E with a pencil. She's been writing ever since - first on a typewriter, then a word processor, then a computer.
When Meryl finally decided to get serious about writing - by serious she meant wanting to see her work in print - Meryl attended the Writers Program at UCLA. She had graduated from UCLA years earlier but this time she returned to study writing. There Meryl was fortunate to meet Colleen McCullough, author of Thornbirds. She was on tour and one of Meryl's instructors threw a cocktail party to introduce Colleen to some aspiring writers. Colleen was unbelievably warm and charming and helpful. "Write what you like to read," she told the students. Meryl had always wanted to be a female Sidney Sheldon - so that's the direction she took.
Meryl completed a novel, attended seminars, met an agent and had offers from four different publishers within two months of finishing the book. That's not every author's experience, but it happened that way for Meryl. She jokingly says, "I thought I would be famous by Friday - Saturday at the very latest. Here I am eighteen years later. Not famous but successful, and more importantly, happy."
One thing all Meryl's books have in common is animals. Her canine buddies have even helped Meryl's career. They have spent countless hours under her desk while she was writing.
Meryl loves to hear from readers. She may be reached on the web at www.merylsawyer.com.
