Tell us a bit about your family. I am happily married and settled into a life of domestic chaos. My husband and I produced three children, a boy and boy/girl twins. They keep our life full and boisterous, especially in these young years.
How do you work through self-doubts and fear?
Self-doubt and fear can be an author’s constant companions. But, if I don’t make mistakes, how can I learn from them. I try to keep a hold on realistic expectations. I cannot please everyone, but I will do the best I can. There will always be someone better than me, but I can live with that. I can always improve, but there is a point that it is best to just walk away. Constantly learning, striving, and working can keep the discouraging thoughts from getting too loud.
Why do you write?
I write because I love to write. I am a bit of an addict. I love the way words capture us, our surroundings, our emotions, the beauty and the mystery of life in a way that can speak to any human who reads those words. Each reader brings out a new meaning, sometimes finding things in a passage that the writer never imagined. With a single word or a handful of well-chosen words, an author can capture time, a moment, and record it for others.
Have you always enjoyed writing?
I am ashamed to admit that I didn’t enjoy writing much as a child. I do have memories of scribbling bumpy lines on blank scrap paper to mimic writing real words and delighting in the idea of writing. However, I didn’t come to truly love writing until much later in my early teens. Reading, on the other hand, was an instant and deep love, especially fiction.
What motivates you to write?
The thrill of telling the story, capturing the emotion, reflecting reality in different ways, and creating new people and worlds out of words is fascinating. I love the feeling when I know characters so well it is as though they leap from my mind onto the page. The process amazes me. I come to the page with my life and experiences and discover a deeper understanding of them by telling a story.
What book genre of books do you adore?
I tend toward eclectic tastes. History, science fiction, fantasy, romance, mystery, and adventure are all regular favorites. I would have to say I heavily prefer fiction to non-fiction, though.
What books did you love growing up?
As a child, I adored fairy tales, folk tales, and anything with magic and a bit of romance. I went through one summer when I could not get enough of Nancy Drew. After that it was science fiction. Fantasy consumed most of my reading in Junior High and High School. History and literature became favorite subjects at school.
How did you develop your writing?
In the beginning, during my teen years, I simply read and wrote. I learned how to express myself by familiarizing myself with the written word and then using and mastering what I saw. Later, when I started to seriously consider writing as a career, I began focusing on grammar, editing, and reading about what to avoid. I continue to read, both old and contemporary authors. However, unlike my younger years, I now read with a discerning eye. I consider the style and method of the storytelling and not just how much I am enjoying the story.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
Everywhere. A book, a movie, a conversation I overhear, a bit of history I read about, all it takes is one idea and the questions begin. “What if…?”
For Duty, the inspiration was twofold. First, I had the opening line. I chose it from a whole selection posted on my blog by some friends and acquaintances. Add to that a bit of history about a king ordering some of soldiers to marry local girls so that they would have a vested interest in defending a border and my ideas were off and running.
Location and life experiences can really influence writing, tell us where you grew up and where you now live?
My early years were pretty nomadic. We moved every three to four years, sometimes more often, until I was ten. Then we settled in one place for six or so years. Then we moved a final time, I met my husband and stayed put. The constant change of setting might have influenced my tendency to completely make up the settings of my books instead of placing them somewhere in the real world.
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Genre – Fantasy, Romance
Rating – G
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