Welcome to Friday Faculty Five! This week, we hear from nonfiction author Linda Gilden, author and freelance editor Andrea Merrell, and Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference founder Yvonne Lehman.

Yvonne Lehman

1. When I was five years old, I said, “I want to write books.” Didn’t think of that again until I was 32. Can hardly wait to see what I might think of 27 more years from now!
2. In addition to being an author, I’m a s-c-a-r-y editor of Romance and Women’s Fiction (LPC) and I do bite … if it’s dark chocolate.
3. I often wear 4” heels and am warned about breaking my neck (or something). But I wasn’t walking in my 4” heeled bootie, just tying it! Find out what a broken arm and a broken blog have in common at Novel Rocket or on my blog.
4. There’s only one blog on my blog site, and someone else put it there. I’ve heard that creative people are directional impaired. Wonder what it means to be technologically impaired? That’s a rhetorical question, so please don’t ponder it too long – and don’t tell me the answer!
5. I’ve visited two countries outside the U.S. One was wonderful, beautiful, exciting Paris and I met the challenge of climbing the 669 steps of the Eiffel Tower (taking time to pause a few times—to look at the view outside … ahem). The other was Israel, where the Bible came alive to my eyes and more profoundly in my heart. I walked where Jesus walked.

Linda Gilden

1. I was the Camp Ton-A Wanda fencing champ and badminton champ.
2. Last Halloween I dressed up like an old woman and no one (not even my grandchildren) recognized me at first.
3. I used to be a drummer in an all girls praise band.
4. I still have the outfit I was wearing when my husband first told me he loved me over 45 years ago. (And, no, it doesn’t still fit!)
5. I live on a farm but haven’t learned to like bugs or slithering animals.

Andrea Merrell

1. My first job was selling encyclopedias door-to-door.
2. In my first—and last—snow skiing trip, I never graduated from the bunny slope and spent the entire day humiliating myself.
3. I had a full-blown panic attack on Space Mountain at Disneyworld.
4. During my first football game as a cheerleader, I swallowed a bug when running onto the field.
5. I am a Hallmark movie junkie, dark chocolate addict, and teddy bear collector.

PS – We’re only one week out from the conference! Yay! Who’s excited? Join us next Friday for our final Friday Faculty Five featuring Directors Edie Melson and DiAnn Mills and Conference Assistant Alycia Morales.