Hello, my name is Tina N. Katamay.I am Roman’s wife, Amber and Christopher’s mother, Pumpkin’s fur mom, Candace's mother-in-law, Tanner, and Tyler’s grandmother. These are the titles I cherish most in the world. A former 911 dispatcher, I enjoy traveling, cooking, and entertaining. I have a passion for reimagined home designs. Though my favorite pastime is sitting in my comfy chair with a glass of wine and reading a good book at my home in Paso Robles, California. This is who I am today, but many years ago, I was simply Tina. A little girl with a vast imagination… abandoned.I became a storyteller. Eager to share my latest tale with anyone who would listen. Why? Maybe the words and worlds inside my mind wanted out. Perhaps I just enjoyed hearing my own voice. Shouting through my stories, “I am here, listen to me.”Each night, my sister and brother would ask me for bedtime stories, and each time, I would oblige. Sometimes they were silly, other times scary. I found myself thrilled with their laughter, and their screams in delight or fear. During those times, I discovered my own dream. To become a writer and tell stories forever.At the age of 12, I devoured my aunt’s beloved romance novels. Probably not the words a young girl should be reading, but they were fun. The concerns of the world seemed to fall away. In these books, there was always enough money. The endings were always happy for the heroine. Until the books closed and then reality crept back in.A little girl … with a vast imagination… abandoned. With a deep desire to understand my mother’s painful decisions. A life where war, mental illness, and substance abuse caused our lives to unravel. A dream put on hold until…Exactly 50-years later, I have written “My Real Mother,” the first of three books. A work of nonfiction, with the fractures creatively painted in by that abandoned little girl with the vast imagination that still resides deep within me, ready to finally tell the story of, “My Real Mother.” A beautiful story without happy endings.Read more about this authorRead less about this author