A childhood passion becomes a career for romance author

When she was 10 years old Crystal Hubbard wrote "Disco Cleopatra," a play about a 17-year-old roller skating queen. In another childhood story, "Ants," Hubbard tells the tale of a girl who breaks her leg and eats ice cream in bed all day only to find ants have invaded her leg cast.

By age 13 Hubbard was a prolific writer and shrewd businesswoman.

She playfully confesses, "I would let the neighborhood kids read my work for 15 cents per page at the playground." Writing became an outlet for Hubbard's young imagination and emotions. Her love of writing was matched only by her love of reading.

Dubbed the eccentric in her family of two girls, Hubbard possesses a …