I've always loved learning. As a child, though, I was shy and didn't always share what I knew with my teachers. I remember wanting something more for children than what I sometimes experienced myself. I wanted them to feel encouraged. I wanted them to feel supported. Most of all, I wanted them to know that someone believed in them.

I was the second oldest of six children, and before graduating from high school, I attended thirteen different schools. I met people from many different backgrounds and cultures, but moving so often meant that long-term relationships were hard to build. Maybe that's why I treasure them so much today.

For 35 years, I worked as a social worker, helping people through the challenges they faced in their lives. Eventually, that desire to help led me into another chapter: teaching. During my 18 years in the classroom, I was able to bring together two things that have always mattered to me: learning and encouraging children.

I know what a difference encouragement can make. I once attended a school for only three days, yet I learned something there that helped me later because someone took the time to encourage me. I've never forgotten that. It became part of the way I try to live my life: turn negatives into positives, no matter what they are.

I earned my Master's degree in Marriage and Family Counseling because I wanted to understand people better and learn more ways to help them. And I'm still learning. I still enjoy taking classes, meeting people, and discovering new things.

My faith, my love for people, and my desire to encourage children are at the heart of my writing, too. When I wrote I Just Don't Have Time for Crime, I wanted children to understand that their choices matter, their lives have value, and there is always an opportunity to choose a more positive path.

This version also makes her 35 years as a social worker feel foundational, rather than something we're adding to the biography after the fact. Her story becomes: she experienced instability as a child, learned the value of encouragement, devoted decades to helping people, brought that same heart into teaching, and now brings it into her writing.

Linda Waters encourages children to see their value and potential.

meet Linda Waters

Linda Waters encourages children to see their value and potential.

I've always believed in the power of encouragement. Maybe that's because, as a shy child who attended thirteen different schools, I learned how much it can mean when someone believes in you.

That belief followed me through 35 years in social work and 18 years of teaching. Today, it continues through my faith and my writing.

My philosophy is simple: turn negatives into positives and help children see the value within themselves.