I was born and raised in the heart of the legendary Transylvania in Romania by my most loving grandparents. My mother was a writer and a Latin/French and Romanian literature professor living with us in Romania. My father, on the other hand, was in the United States building Christian churches and the Eastern European communities.

I already had 16 short stories published in Bucharest’s Pioneer Magazine when my mother decided to bring me, my brother, and sister to the United States to be reunited with my father. I was 14 when we came to live the American Dream in June 1981.

Coming from an full totalitarian Communist country, the United States was a dream come true, more so because my father was there and I needed him in my life. But his presence and love was a dream that would always vanish quickly because he was heavily involved in his projects. Thus, growing up as the oldest child in the family proved to be sad and hard.

Two months after arriving in Portland, Oregon, I found myself alone and finding ways just to survive in a beautiful country that I knew nothing about. I landed myself a full-time job at 15 years old while taking the bus across town to continue my education. Through the hurdles and the pain, I managed to be a survivor against all odds. I got married, had 3 beautiful and intelligent daughters, and built a couple of multi-million dollar companies. But through it all, my passion for writing didn’t die. I knew it was something I really wanted to do but didn’t have the chance to pursue.

When 2006 came, my life started to change drastically. Upon selling my last big company in Georgia, my whole world came to a screeching halt due to multiple tragic events taking place in a 7 month time frame. The whole ordeal was depressing and painful. I wasn’t able to recover the millions I earned from my recent sale because the buyer never honored the contract.

My daughters, all grown-up and in college, were the ones who inspired and encouraged me to “dance again” and live my life. So I went back to Romania to heal. And that’s when I started going back to writing. I returned to the United States a short while after and became a mini partner and CFO of a multi-state logistics company.

And then, 7 years ago, in a fury of emotions, I wrote Storms Within. My life story has many twists and turns, tragedies and accomplishments, beauty and pain. But despite all of these, I can easily look back and say it was the best thing that ever happened to me.