I wanted to let the world know that no one had a perfect life, that even the people who seemed to have it all had their secrets.

I lived in a world that at any moment could erupt into fire. It was the sort of knowledge that kept you on your toes.

You West Virginia girls are one tough breed," he said. You got that right," I told him.

I became known as Lily Casey, the mustang-breaking, poker-playing, horse-race-winning schoolmarm of Coconino County, and it wasn't half bad to be in place where no one had a problem with a woman having a moniker like that.

That was the thing to remember about all monsters, They love to frighten people, but the minute you stare them down, they turn tail and run.

She had her addictions and one of them was reading.

It was good work, the kind of work that let you sleep soundly at night and, when you awoke, look forward to the day.