About Me

First, the professional Bio I use on my amazon author page, in my book, and all other professional blogs and whatnot…

I love a good story, but I also love young people. These two loves are evident in all parts of my life. I have been a high school English teacher since 2006 and a creative writing teacher since 2014. I’ve also been a youth sponsor at my local church for as long as I’ve been teaching. I feel very blessed with the amazing opportunities I have to develop meaningful relationships with teens on a daily basis. With my love of reading in the mix, becoming an author of young adult books was just a natural development of those two passions in my life. I live with my husband, Clayton, and our two daughters in Yukon, Oklahoma, where we often serve our community as foster parents. When I’m not chasing kids around the house or teaching, books and movies are my favorite diversion. Some of my favorite book series are The Hunger Games, Unwind, Hush Hush, Divergent, and Percy Jackson. Some of my favorite movies are Inception, Avengers (and most Marvel movies), and Pride and Prejudice – an eclectic mix, I know.

 

Now for the non-professional one:

My name is Dusty Crabtree (if you haven’t gathered that yet by my blog’s unoriginal name).  Yes, I am a high school English teacher.  No, I do not correct people’s grammar all the time…out loud.  I mean, I do live in Oklahoma. I can’ t help what pops into my head.

Did I always want to be a writer?  No, actually.  Besides the occasional attempt as a child to write silly stories, the thought to write a novel never occurred to me until a friend encouraged me to write a young adult book.  With a vague premise already in mind and a strong passion to give teens something intriguing yet also moral to read, I began plowing away at my laptop and never looked back.

Is it hard to juggle being a wife, teacher, author, parent/foster-parent, and youth sponsor?  Absolutely!  But I wouldn’t change any of those titles for anything in the world as each is uniquely precious to me and dear to my heart.

Okay, so I ended up getting all mushy at the end.  Sorry, but that’s just me.  Goofy and fun, yet passionate and sentimental.  Maybe that’s what qualifies me to be a young adult author.  🙂

I couldn’t leave the About Me page without including a picture of my handsome hubby, Clayton. I couldn’t do any of this without him. Especially the fostering kids part. Literally, I would die without his help and support. 🙂