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Shirley Kawa-Jump by Lisa Beamer

She sold her first article to her local paper at age eleven. A year later, she mustered her courage and pitched an article to the editor of the local weekly paper. He bought it "on spec" and hired her after that. Shirley Kawa-Jump undoubtedly had one of the youngest starts to her professional writing career of anyone at Momwriters!

"The editor [of the weekly] asked if I was in high school," remembers Shirley, "I lied and said yes. He didn't meet me and find out how old I really was until I was 14 and finally allowed to go to the Christmas party!"

Shirley's early writing career continued when she was hired at 16 as the town correspondent for her local daily paper. She filed two stories a day, seven days a week. "That was through the horrible recession of the 80s, and three years later, I was let go." Though she freelanced for a few papers and magazines through college, she didn't get serious about her writing again until after her first child was born eight years ago.

Now Shirley is enjoying a very successful career, literally writing just about anything. "In articles, I write mainly about business issues.401k plans, IRAs, technology innovations...and then I write essays on my experiences as a writer and parent. I also do a lot of corporate writing and do public relations and marketing materials. I've done everything from the Christmas letter from the president to a full corporate identity package."

With all of this non-fiction experience behind her, Shirley still says that her favorite type of writing is faction. "...There are no constraints on me. I can take my characters anywhere, imbue them with qualities I wish I had, and then create an ending I like." She hopes some of her fiction will be published very soon.

With such a varied writing career behind her, Shirley has quite a collection of proud moments - her first byline, her first national publication, the first time she wrote about her children. But her most proud moment to date is a story she wrote about a realtor named Jim Harding.

"I interviewed him on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, he died of a heart attack. One of the last things he said to me was, "I've been doing what I love for 34 years. I can only hope that God will give me another 34. 24 hours later (almost to the minute, ironically), he was dead. When it came time to write the piece, I struggled. I cried and cried over the loss of someone who so clearly loved his profession and his family. I didn't know where to start, how to handle the story. Then I decided to write it as if I were his wife--creating the story the way I thought she'd want him to be remembered.

A few weeks after the story came out, my cleaning lady (who also cleans Jim's house) said she'd been there the week before and Jim's widow had pulled her into the kitchen. "You have to read this story about Jim," she said. "It's so wonderfully written and is such a perfect description of him."

When my cleaning lady told me that story, I wanted to cry all over again. I didn't care if I got paid for that piece (and in truth, it was one that paid very little). The article had been a true portrait of Jim--and that's all I could ask of myself."

Among Shirley's writing achievements are her book credits. Her most recent publication is "How to Publish Your Articles: A Complete Guide to Making the Right Publication Say Yes," which was published this fall by Square One Writer's Guides. She also wrote "Rex Trailer: The Boomtown Years" published by Covered Bridge Press. Shirley is a contributing author to two books: "Women on Writing--From Inspiration to Publication," which is a collection of articles and essays written by the members of NAWW, and "Crumbs in the Keyboard."

When Shirley takes time away from writing, she enjoys reading and cooking. "Yesterday morning, I was stressed because I had deadlines piling up. I ignored them all and spent some time in my kitchen, cooking that day's and the next's dinners and a special breakfast for the kids. By the time I came to work, I felt calmer because I'd taken time to do something fun."

Some fun facts about Shirley:

Family: Shirley and her husband Jeff have been married for 11 years and have two children. Mandy is eight and Derek is three (and is reportedly responsible for virtually every stain in Shirley's carpet). They reside in Fort Wayne, Indiana, though Shirley is a native of Massachusetts.

Pets: A dog and two cats (who are her son's favorite co-conspirators in destroying her carpets!).

Reading: "I have too many favorite authors to list. I really love Stephen King and think his "On Writing" was one of the best and most honest books I've ever read. I love "Morning Glory" by LaVyrle Spencer and can't get through it without crying."

Most memorable vacation: "My honeymoon - and I'm not going to tell you why." :-)

Last movie seen at a theatre: ""Atlantis" -- with the kids. I gave it a thumbs up for the graphics, a thumbs down for the REALLY stupid plot that no new writer could have sold if she tried."

Favorite quotes: "Some people dream of success, while others wake up and work hard at it." (Author unknown) "A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit." (Richard Bach)

If she had a full day off from all responsibilities, what would she do? "I'd probably overdose on the shows I love to watch that drive my husband nuts--all that stuff on MSNBC and TLC with true crime and stuff about mummies. I'd also eat all the chocolate, because without the kids around, I wouldn't have to share." :-)

If you would like to contact Shirley, you can reach her via her web site, www.shirleykawa-jump.com.

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