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About Kate
Kate Rizor began writing books when she was 12, fifty- to sixty-page mysteries that she still gets a good chuckle over. Raised in Richland, Michigan, she attended Gull Lake Community Schools. During high school, she was accepted to attend the Summer Institute of the Arts, a state-funded creative arts program of which only 100 students a year are chosen. She attended the two-week program at Olivet College, where, surrounded by other students with similar interests and backgrounds, she started taking writing more seriously.
After graduation, she attended Kalamazoo Valley Community College to pursue journalism. She attended a motivational seminar that fall about pursuing your dreams. She left the seminar inspired and determined to get a head-start on her writing career. The next day, she called her local newspaper, the Kalamazoo Gazette, and learned that a part-time job was available in the newsroom. She applied and was hired to edit press releases for publication.
Between work and school, she wrote novels during nights and weekends and submitted work to literary agents and publishing houses. Rejections poured in and homework piled up so she put her writing on hold after transferring to Western Michigan University.
For four years, she worked her way up at the Gazette as a reporter and copy editor. When she was 21, one local story she covered affected her profoundly, changing her life forever. A member of the Richland community called the newsroom one afternoon, asking her to cover a local fund-raiser she was hosting for a young man suffering from a rare form of cancer. This young man turned out to one of Kate’s high school classmates. She agreed to report on his story, and wrote about how the community was trying to raise funds to send him for experimental treatment.
She reported on his story for four months but by the time the money was raised it was too late. His death made her realize that life is too short and that she couldn’t give up her dream. She set personal goals to acquire more writing credentials. She began freelancing for national magazines. During this time, she worked as a trainer for a local pharmaceutical company and used her public speaking experience to conduct writing seminars and workshops. And nearly a year later her first acceptance letter came in! The Governor’s Wife was published and has sold several hundred copies over the years.
Kate recently completed her second manuscript titled, The Ranchers’ Daughters, and is hoping to get it published. She is currently writing her third novel and hopes to finish it by Summer 2012.
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