My guest house is probably one of my favorite places on earth. My oldest daughter and I remodeled it together. When we started, it looked like an old garage or utility type area—cracked linoleum in the kitchen, utility sink only, gas stove that wasn't hooked up to anything, stained beige carpet in the bedroom. It had a few things going for it, like a wooden ceiling with beams and rafters, but even that needed some work. We had almost everything torn out. Then we had the ceiling refinished, had some really cute cupboards built for the kitchen, bought new bathroom fixtures, a new sink for the kitchen, and a new stove. We put hardwood floors in the bedroom and bathroom (red Spanish-type tile in the kitchen) and replaced the old single-pane windows. The new paint—Ralph Lauren's green suede—is so textured and soothing. It goes perfectly with the blue trim around the window and on the baseboards. My daughter actually saw this in a magazine. We weren't sure how well it would work, but we're glad we went with it. We did the painting in the kitchen ourselves—it's sort of old-world plaster. Then came the furniture. I bought plenty of the bookshelves that matched an "L" wooden desk and situated myself right next to a window that looks out on a grove of mature trees. I feel as if I'm writing in a little cottage hidden away in the country, but I'm actually on 2 acres in the city.

I have a cat, Pretty Kitty. She's an outdoor cat but comes to visit me in my guest house every morning. Somehow she knows that if we don't push the new door shut very tightly, she can push it with her nose and get in to see me. She doesn't hang out long, but it's always fun to see her.

Aside from her writing, Brenda also hosts her annual on-line auction for diabetes research which she holds every May in honor of her son and the many others who face this terrible disease.

When she finished First Impressions, her proud father, who had some pretty impressive connections, set out to find a publisher. He knocked on many doors, approached many friends and acquaintances, but no one showed the least bit interest in his daughter's book. Some didn't even bother to read more than the first page before they rejected it.

This young lady, resilient and strong, simply set it aside and began work on another story.

And another.

Fourteen years passed before she finally picked up the old manuscript again. And when she did, she had a clearer idea of what to do. She revised and revised. She changed the title. When the newer version went out into the world, it instantly found a publishing house.  

Unfortunately no copies of the original manuscript exist, so we have no way of knowing what she kept and what she threw away. Odds are, however, if Jane Austen had opened First Impressions with the same line she used in Pride and Prejudice, many more publishers would've read it.