The greatest joy of writing would have to be split between two different joys for me. One being the awareness my non-fiction books bring to the disorders they are about. When I write non-fiction it's only about topics that touch my heart and soul. I put every ounce of myself into writing them. It brings such joy to be able to shine the spotlight on something so in need of attention. The second being the sense of liberation it brings to me as a person. My day to day life is extremely structured and based on a routine developed for my severely autistic son. There isn't much swaying from thing to thing allowed. When I write it gives me some 'me time'. It's just me, the keyboard, and my mind.

Currently I am working on my very first fiction novel. I do not want to divulge to much information about it being it is in it's early stages. Be watching for it soon though!

As a child I always loved Lois Lowry. As an adult I am very influenced by Piers Anthony, Hunter S. Thompson, Anthony Burgess, Truman Capote, Chuck Palahniuk, and J.D. Salinger. My favorite I'd have to say is Augusten Burroughs though. I love the attitude that jumps off the pages of his books as you read them. The honesty he writes with. You can NEVER go wrong with one of his books. You can never go wrong with one of my books either.

I've never really had the privilege of asking a fellow author how their writing process goes so I am not sure if mine is abnormal or not. When I get an idea for a book I start by writing down all the points I want to bring up, all the separate topics, and a title idea to work on as I write. I go from there. I start writing and researching as I write. I don't worry about font type or size until the end. I always write in block paragraph style, though I am thinking about swaying from it on my new book. Once I am done I insert pictures and title, reference, and copyright pages. After that I go through and reformat it completely.

I do. The first real story I read to myself was 'Number the Stars' by Lois Lowry. That book changed my whole way of thinking. Honestly I still think about the book to this day. That book helped me realize the extent a book can take your mind into your imagination and help you get lost there. The ability a book has to make you question your own reality. I am going to have to read that book again as an adult.

I always base my cover designs off of whatever picture I have picked to represent my book. It's basically all done by my eye and my own taste. I have picked an artists painting and asked if I could use it and had them collaborate with me on making the cover. That was a fun experience. Very exciting to me.

As morbid as this is going to sound, I usually read autopsy reports from murders or I read about serial killers in my free time. Not because I enjoy the violent side of it, but because it helps me understand how a group of people I can't understand function. How their brains work. I also like to read memoirs. I like fiction novels but I rarely read them.

That depends on the time of day. Late at night my desk is a small black laptop stand and my big king sized bed. My regular desk is a shipping envelope engulfed, book stacked, picture frame covered, L shaped wonder, with pictures my kids have drawn me on post it notes stuck all along the top. At least it is always neat though. My favorite desk is, of course, my night time desk. I get the most work done at it with the most comfort.

I was raised in a small town that you never see on any map. Everybody knew everybody else and always watched out for each other. There weren't to many families out there, obviously, so there was a snug sense of security. Not even a mile from my house 2 rivers dumped into each other. My brother and I loved to play down there and run thru the trees. I think growing up out there gave me an amazing insight into how simple beauty actually is. It made me a more of a free thinker.

'Redefining Normal: A real world guide to raising an autistic child' was born from years of frustration when my son was first diagnosed. I didn't know where to start or what to do. There was almost NO information directing you aside from the pamphlet the doctors give you and that wasn't a lot of help either. We know more now than we did 7 or 8 years ago. I started co-administrating an autism support group and found out that parents still have the same frustrations presently. The emotional side of the road you have to take to raise these kids is rarely talked about. This book combines the emotions with some medical basics and tests and then throws in the point of view from actual special needs parents. Their advice is given to the reader, their joys shared. I decided it had to be written and I dove in. This book I am very proud of.

When I am not writing I am with my children and my husband. They all mean the world to me. I can only write around my sons schedule. I'd say a more accurate way to phrase that question to me is, "When you are not with your family, how do you spend your time?". To which I'd reply- my free time is spent writing.