“I'm going to be a writer when I grow up!"

Sandra D. Bricker declared these words to her father on a Sunday afternoon in Slidell, Louisiana. She was 5 years old, and was referring to being able to string her cursive letters together to write her full name for the first time, but the declaration proved somewhat prophetic.

By the time she reached high school and her first article was published in The Cincinnati Enquirer, Sandie knew writing was what she wanted to do. For more than a decade, Sandie lived in Los Angeles and, while writing in every spare moment, worked as a personal assistant and publicist to some of daytime television's hottest stars. When her mother became ill in Florida, she walked away from that segment of her life and moved cross-country to take on a new role: Caregiver.

"I guess most people would see my career as a publicist as a sort of dream job. But giving it up turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to me!” she declares. “Not only was I given the gift of getting to know my mother as an adult woman before she passed away, but I was also afforded the blessing of being able to focus completely on my dream of a writing career.”

That career weaves a web that draws in every age of reader. Sandie's interest in telling a story knows no boundaries. Three novels for middle readers carved out the beginning of the journey; then Avalon Books followed up with two hardbound romance novels in 2001: unWANTED: Husband (romantic comedy) and Change of Heart (romantic suspense). The response was tremendous, and Sandie was asked to pen a sequel to Change of Heart ... and so Sins of the Past was released in December 2003. Next up was another romantic comedy; Wish I Weren't Here was released in February 2005.

“I’m a Christian woman, first and foremost,” she says. “Not all of my published work falls under the label of inspirational fiction, but I can promise you will find the spirit of my beliefs within every page of my books! In fact, my editor at Avalon often tells groups at workshops and conferences that I'm a perfect example of an inspirational romance writer making her mark wherever she can. I take that as a supreme compliment! I’d hate to think anyone would ever read something I wrote and later wonder, ‘Is she a Christian?’ My deepest hope is that there will never be any doubt."

After spending nearly 15 years dealing with her celebrity clients' fans, Sandie finds it amusing that she is suddenly the one getting fan mail! "When people were actually buying my books at a recent signing, I found myself wanting to go around and invite them all to dinner or offer to bake them cookies! In fact ... maybe I'll do that very soon."