KJ Lawlor

 I have been a ballet teacher, choreographer and writer for over forty years. My passion for creative writing started in elementary school and continued through college and my arts career. I have a B.A. in Communications from the University of South Florida and an A.S. in Physical Therapy from Polk State College. I taught ballet at our family operated dance conservatory and recently retired from teaching. I am a national ballet examiner of the Cecchetti Method of classical ballet. My interests include, aviation, sailing, carpentry, cooking, gardening, photography and music. I have three talented grown children. I live in Florida with my wife Leena, a faithful dog and two psychotic cats.

So, when did I start writing? Sixth grade was when I came to realize the joy of creative writing. I grew up in the North Shore of Chicago. Many of my stories take place in the suburbs of the North end. While non-fiction was the academic focus in the lion share of work, it was the creative side that held a special place. In my junior year at University of South Florida, I made the career choice to enter the dance field. I was majoring in Mass Communications and spent all my time in  journalism. It was fine. I had some valuable experiences, but television and the media business wasn’t my thing. My exposure to classical ballet as a kid won out. I enjoyed the immense creativity and athleticism that ballet offered. In our family, it was a natural choice. I used all the writing skills I had learned to run our family dance school. I wrote several articles about dance in World Topics Year Book in the early to mid 1980s. I was fortunate to have a lot of travel and overseas study opportunities. I spent a summer studying at the University of Madrid in 1979 and spent a month studying in Russia in 1984. I wrote critiques for art columns, to earn some extra cash. The creative writing bug was latent. Teaching, marriage, and children were the emphasis for a while. I'm back into full time writing. I love to entertain!  Anyone who is wanting to read my books, please give me an opportunity to share my life's experiences with you.