Eating chocolate. Okay, seriously? I'm usually working at my day job, reading, or helping my daughter with her homework. Those who know me know that I'm not kidding about the chocolate. :-)

I search online or friends tell me if they've read something they enjoyed. Otherwise, I wait until a book title comes to me in a dream. Really.

Yes! I wrote it many years ago. It wasn't even a story. It was a scene and I thought it was great. It wasn't.

When I come up with an idea, I do some research to flesh it out. If I decide it will make an interesting book, I start jotting down plot points. Once I get that, I note what I think should happen in each chapter. It's just a couple of sentences. Then, I elaborate on that and include a sentence or two about the scenes in the chapter. Okay, we're going back to the dream again, here. But, I'm serious this time. :-) Sometimes, when I'm driving to or from work, I sort of daydream. I think most of us do that. From time to time, when I daydream, thoughts of my book come to me and the characters start talking in my head. When that happens while I'm driving I grab my mini digital recorder and speak into it. I get the same thoughts when I'm in bed trying to fall asleep. I usually turn on the light and start writing. And there you have it.

Uh, no. No, I don't. Now that the question has been asked, I'm feeling a bit sad that I don't remember. Okay, life goes on. I'm over it. Next question.

For my first cover, I printed out online book covers of the authors I enjoy reading. I looked at the covers of the books I own. I studied the opinions of book designers on what made a good cover. Since I'm sure nobody would take a second look at a book cover I drew, I browsed stock images. A LOT of stock images. I wanted an image that created an emotional reaction in me. I think if it does that for me, it may also do it for a reader browsing for books. I used a font that was recommended for the type of book I wrote. For the cover of my second book, I had an idea in mind and went back to the stock images. Hopefully, that book (Criminal Negligence) will be ready by the end of 2014. If it's not, well, then it's not. Shoot me.

Mysteries/Suspense. I like my heart to race. Well, except if it involves running. I don't want that. In a book, I like trying to figure out what's going on before the author tells me. If I can't figure out who did the dirty deed and the story is compelling, I'll read that author again. In fact, I'll seek out their next book and probably buy all of the series. I prefer to read series.

Currently, it's the Kindle 6" E Ink. The screen isn't very big, but you can only read one word at a time anyway, right?

Huh? My desk? Really? Well, the surface is too small. I have an HP Notebook with a wireless keyboard and mouse. There's a lot of paper on the desk. Too much. There's also a smoke detector sitting on it that needs to be attached to the ceiling. I'm procrastinating. I may regret that. Note to self: Put up the smoke detector!

I'm an Army brat and grew up all over, I guess you could say. I think the travelling enabled me to be around different types of people. That's a good thing. I'm observant of people and that helps with writing.

I never sent out query letters. Nor did I try to seek an agent. It's about control. I wanted to do the cover MY way. I wanted to make my own deadlines.

Ask me again in a few months.

Telling stories. Solitude. Eating chocolate while I write. :-)

Everything. I want people to think about my books AFTER they've read them.

It's called Criminal Negligence. It's another Sydney Valentine mystery. Theresa Sinclair, another detective who works with Sydney, will have a more prominent role. People have told me they enjoyed the banter between the two of them. That's all I can say for now.

JD Robb and Sue Grafton.

Having a roof over my head and eating.