Hello! I’m Julie, the creator of this site and its stories. I live in Illinois, in the USA, where I was born and raised. I’m the oldest in my family and have one younger sister, along with a brother-in-law, nephew, and niece. My family means everything to me. As far as I know, they are the only people in my “real life” who know that I write fanfiction and maintain this site. Over the years, I’ve managed to keep my “real life” friends, including my college dorm roommate, blissfully unaware of my fanfic hobby. It’s a private part of my life that I like to share only with a select group of people – namely, YOU. 🙂
I started Dreamer’s Sanctuary as a fifteen-year-old high school freshman back in the year 2000. You can do the math, but I’m now out of college and teaching elementary school instead. I come from a long line of teachers and wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember. I love my job, but if I weren’t a teacher, I would probably be working in the medical field. I’ve been fascinated by all things medical ever since I was a little kid reading Curious George Goes to the Hospital and watching Rescue 911 on TV. If you’ve read some of my stories, you have probably already realized this; it tends to show up a lot in my writing!
I’ve enjoyed writing fiction since I was seven years old, although it didn’t used to be something I did for fun in my free time. In grade school, I wrote a short story every year for my school’s “Young Authors” program, and every year from fourth grade through eighth, my story was chosen as my classroom’s winner. The story I wrote in eighth grade actually won first place for the entire school, which was a huge accomplishment for me. My family, of course, always told me I was a good writer, and at the awards banquets they would hold every year for Young Authors, people would ask me if I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. I never, ever said yes. Back then, writing “for fun” was something I really only did once a year, solely for that contest. I enjoyed doing it, but I also think part of the reason I enjoyed it was just because I was competitive and had realized it was something I could do well.
I write for fun all the time now, and although I’m still not looking to make a living out of writing, I would love to write a “real” novel someday and get it published, and I have the Backstreet Boys to thank for that. I’ve been a fan since I was twelve (prime teenybopper age LOL), late 1997/early 1998, and I’ve been involved in the fanfic community since 1999. Writing is a huge part of who I am, and I honestly can’t imagine my life without it. I’m pretty much a fanfic-only author for right now, mostly just because I love writing about the Boys and purposely try to think up ideas that I can fit them into, but even when I stop writing fanfiction (which I can’t see happening anytime soon because I love it too much), I hope I’ll be able to keep writing and branch out into the world of original fiction.
When I’m not writing, I love to read. I love Harry Potter and horror stories, especially by Stephen King. I also love movies and TV shows. My favorite movie is Titanic, and some of my all-time favorite shows are ER, The Walking Dead, Stranger Things, Breaking Bad, South Park, The OC, and Survivor. I love music, too, a little bit of everything, but especially nineties pop, eighties music, and rock from all decades. I play the piano and enjoy both singing and dancing, although I don’t do either particularly well! One of my more unique hobbies is collecting random things, anything weird or funny that I find for cheap at antique shops, dollar stores, and so forth. I also enjoy shopping in general, taking walks, eating, and playing with my two cats.
That’s about it! Thanks for visiting my site, and if you have any comments or questions, don’t hesitate to contact me!