For me, cover design is finding something that represents what I felt while writing the book, but is also catching enough that other people will see it and think, "hey, that looks good".

For pleasure, I like to read a lot of YA fiction, but I also thoroughly enjoy picking up one of Shakespeare's works and reading that.

My desk is very cluttered. I wish I could say something more poetic about it, but it's immensely doused in all kinds of things, some of which I'm sure aren't even related to my writing.

I grew up in rural Texas, so, naturally, a lot of my settings revolve around some of the places I knew very well while I was a kid. Of course, they are altered a bit to fit better with the story, but I use where I grew up as a foundation for the world I create.

I don't think there was ever a set date that I started writing, or even age. I was always a dreamer, and somewhere along the way, I put pen to paper and discovered how much I liked solidifying my daydreams into stories.

This book, "A World Within Our World", actually has a cute story behind it. When I was in middle school, my English teacher gave out eighth grade class a short narrative writing assignment. She let the students be free to write whatever as long as it was appropriate and that's when Essence and Eternity were born. Yes, their names are a bit out there, but I was thirteen at the time and I couldn't help it. Their names were who they were. Anyways, my teacher wasn't expecting anything more than a few pages, no more than ten, really. I dropped on her desk a thirty-four paged short story that was so thick I had to use those heavy duty paper clips to secure it for her to read. Jeez, she wasn't exactly thrilled to grade all that, but she did and she supported me the whole way. Thanks so plenty of revisions, "A World Within Our World" is able to become what it is today.

Opportunity was a huge motivator into becoming an indie author. And freedom. That, too. As an indie author/publisher I am able to have complete artistic liberty and I don't think that's an opportunity to be passed up.

I love trying new things. I like to wander around my small downtown and see what all kinds of new and cute things I can find. I don't usually act upon it, but I like the experience of it.

Currently, I am working on the sequel to "A World Within Our World" called "A Flame in a Fire". This will be the final book in the series, unfortunately, but I hope everyone enjoys the - what I hope is - epic conclusion.

The greatest joy of writing for me is the process. I love writing and rewriting and editing and changing and discovering, just the whole thing. It's a journey, really, and I love embarking on it every time I get on my computer.