As an English major, and now as a writer, the questions regarding how much of an author's life is present in the books he or she writes is not insignificant. My time as an English major took me in a direction where it has become customary for me to look at historical context when reading a book. After all, were Tolkien and Lewis really sexist, or were they just men of their times? What about Shakespeare?

The question about how autobiographical a work of fiction might be is even trickier. Of course we are all a product of our times, but are the books we write really the story of us?

My personal answer is yes and no. The protagonists in both of my books are women, and I am a woman, so that is one check on the "autobiographical" side, if we want to break it down so simply. After that, it starts to get tricky. Lakshmi has secrets, some which are known by a few, some which are find out, and some which only she herself knows. I would hold that everyone has secrets, including me, but I don't have any secrets as enormous as Lakshmi's. I'm also not leading a double life, or becoming entangled by political plots.

So it's hard for me to see an autobiographical aspect in The Bodyguard.

The Talented is slightly different. Adrienne is an outsider, trying to fit into a world not meant for people like her. She is the only female soldier in Kyrog, and when she moves to Kessering she is just as much a minority and outsider there, if not more so.

In The Talented, in Adrienne, perhaps there is something of me. Perhaps, especially when I was younger, I felt that I didn't fit in. That I existed around the edges of people and friendship groups, rather than being an integral part of the group, and struggled to make new friends. In that way, Adrienne might be a reflection of me. 

Maybe someone who knows me well and reads my books will see more reflections of me there, but I don't see it. I never set out to write an autobiography, even one cloaked as a work of fiction, and I don't intend to. So perhaps the next time you pick up a book to read, rather than trying to get an insight into the author behind the work, you should look for a reflection of your own life in those pages. What you find might surprise you.

As another school year comes to an end, so does the era of me being a teacher.

Granted, it was a short era spanning only three years, but it was an era nonetheless.

I learned a lot during this short time. My skills as a reader and writer grew, which is of course valuable, but the things that I really learned during that time are much less academic.

1. I learned to ignore loud noises unless they clearly indicate a threat to me or my students.
2. I learned that I would rather have kids sleeping in class than talking in class.
3. I learned that although many students won't bother to learn how to pronounce "McGinnity," mispronounce their name one time and you end up on their sh*t list.
4. I learned that one of the best things about being a teacher is that you get to wear jeans on Fridays.
5. I learned that cell phones were invented by the devil to make teachers' jobs 10 times harder.
6. ​I learned cool new phrases like "that's doing too much."
7. I learned that teenagers can be a lot of fun.
8. I learned that starting your class off with a riddle every day makes things much more interesting.
9. I learned that jolly ranchers are a great motivational tool.
10. I learned about myself.