Mary Blake is a freelance writer and editor with a background in engineering (computer applications) and a long history of creative and other writing. She has been writing professionally for six years. She grew up and now lives in East Tennessee surrounded by her beloved family and many beloved friends.
About Me
Recognized in grade school and college for her writing, Mary Blake has always enjoyed putting ideas into words. After majoring in engineering at the University of Tennessee, she enjoyed a ten-year career in computer programming with IBM before stepping away to raise her family. As software tester and developer she wrote user, technical, operations, and skills transfer materials.
As circumstances permitted during her parenting years, Mary wrote creatively, just for fun. She also did volunteer work for:
* ministry to inner city kids
* ministry to international moms
* elementary school classrooms and library
* free ESL class for internationals
* nursing home.
Mary homeschooled her children as needed during 5th, 6th, 7th, and 10th grades. When the last child packed her bags for college in 2017, Mary began her writing career. She has enjoyed writing professionally now for over six years.
* Christian life and faith
* children's writing - both fiction and nonfiction, rhymed and unrhymed
* history
* family and parenting
* education and learning differences
* English as a second language (eight years' teaching experience)
* poetry - writing and editing
* personal stories/family projects
* technical / science / computer (editing and sometimes writing)
* curriculum writing and editing - mathematics, computer programming, English
* lyrics
* business names and slogans, marketing communications
* nature, outdoors
* amateur photography, photo book making
Jewelweed is beautiful: lush and green, with yellow or orange flowers.
Jewelweed is fun: when the seed pods are ready, they will spring open at the lightest touch, shooting seeds everywhere!
Jewelweed is noble: often located near and (said, at least, to be) a remedy for that dastardly scourge, poison ivy.
But Jewelweed’s greatest secret is revealed in its name. The plant is a weed -- rather ordinary and unremarkable, like me. But someone, somewhere saw there something of great value. Whether for its bright flowers, the intact water droplets that sit, singly, on its leaves, glistening in the light, or one of its other desirable qualities, the plant is afforded dignity and value. The weed is redeemed. I hope that, when the whole of my life is taken into consideration, the same will be true of me.
