This week is Teacher Appreciation Week. Let me tell you about a teacher whose students and former students really admire and appreciate, Judy Buranich.

Judy Buranich is a high school English teacher who is also a published writer of erotic romance. She writes under a pen name, Judy Mays. Some parents were unhappy to discover her second job. They went to the media who exposed her career as a “racy novelist” and suggested that it was inappropriate for a teacher to write the “racy” stuff.

Happily, Judy Buranich has gotten the kind of support every teacher could wish for. Current and former students have come out swinging on her behalf. Her school is behind her. Most people are supportive. As a writer, she’s got the power of the romance community behind her.

I think people have funny ideas about what writers are like. My mom is always shocked when I tell her what some of the authors we’ve interviewed do for a living. Some of them are high school teachers, too. Writing horror doesn’t make them bad teachers any more than writing erotica makes Judy Buranich a bad teacher. Actually, being an excellent full time high school teacher AND a published author is pretty impressive! Here is a link to a video that one of Judy’s former students made to support her. It is pretty awesome to see her former student so passionate about her rights. It makes me wish I’d gone to high school in Middleburg, Pennsylvania.

If there’s a teacher you appreciate, this week is a good time to tell them.