Meet Laurie

Laurie's Story

I am a second-generation California native. I've lived in the Los Angeles area my whole life. After graduating UCLA's Theatre/Film/Television program, I went on to work such diverse jobs as babysitting a super-agent's girlfriend and sipping cappuccinos at Armani in Beverly Hills while my boss tried on clothing.

I then worked for Columbia Records in product marketing, at which time I decided to become a rock star. When that didn't pan out, I quit the record company to pursue writing on a full time basis — a decision which caused my mother to label me a "Bohemian."

My pursuit of a career in writing led me to become a sales supervisor of a telemarketing room. It's all good. The experience was the inspiration for the play, "Follow Your Dreams," which I co-wrote and co-produced with Ronald Jacobs, and which ran for 8 weeks in L.A.

I worked alongside my husband in his closeout business and wrote two psychological suspense novels, all the while raising two wonderful kids. I formed a publishing company called FYD Media. FYD stands for Follow Your Dreams. I'm proud to say the company has published books by other authors as well.

Following an opportunity to submit self-published books to the London agency AM Heath, I signed with an agent for worldwide rights. Within a couple of months the books went to auction, and Blanvalet/Random House published the German versions. I am now what's known as a "hybrid" author, being both self-published and traditionally published.

My articles and short stories have appeared in various publications and anthologies. The Gabriel McRay books have won multiple awards. I would encourage people to follow their dreams. You have only one life to live, and the journey is worth it.