Some days, I will have all day to write but get very little done because I am just not feeling it. Other times, I am struck with an idea or the mojo to write and I sit down and start pounding away at the keys until I have to go to sleep or take a shower or feed the cat.

I don't work from an outline. I get an idea, and it works itself out in my head pretty quickly. I make sure I have the elements and progression of a solid story, then I'm off! I sit down and write write write. And ideas come up as I write, working themselves into the story. Then everything I write goes through much editing. MUCH editing. I am a firm believer that before you write something good, you have to write something. So, I do not worry much about the first draft. Once I've got it down, then I really go to work. Director Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) says that you never get done editing, you just run out of time, and I agree! I could edit forever, tweaking this and that, but then I have to stop to you know, publish the book.

I was in 2nd grade and our class went to the school library. I was pottering around, not taking any books off the shelf, and I remember the librarian came over to me and said, "I have a book I think you'll like." It was Did You Carry the Flag Today, Charley? I honestly don't remember much about the actual story, but I must have loved it, because it was the first "book" I ever read on my own and I have been an eager and voracious reader ever since. After that, you couldn't keep me out of the library!

I know the greatest artist and cover designer on the planet! When it was time for me to design the cover for my first novel, She Likes It Rough, I hired Lex Valentine of Winterheart Designs. winterheart.com. She gave me EXACTLY the cover I asked for made of purchased images, but when I saw it, I hated it. The comedy of the book just wasn't coming across. So Lex put me in touch with the amazing graphic artist Annicka Rietveld, codename Brosephiine. brosephiine.artworkfolio.com. Annicka illustrated the cover perfectly - beyond my wildest dreams of getting across humor, romance, and sass. Then Lex took the illustration and turned it into a slam-dunk cover. Now I work with the dynamic duo exclusively! For all my artwork needs as an author! They are both so talented, professional, patient, and good to work with.

1. East of Eden by John Steinbeck - every time I read it, I find so much more. It makes me cry, laugh so hard - even in the same chapter, the same scene. And it just makes me think think think.
2. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare - I first read it in 5th grade and have been reading it almost every autumn since. Adventure, romance, alienation, family, forgiveness, compassion, loyalty, what you're willing to die for, what you want to live for. It is the book that won't let me go and I never want it to.
3. Why Didn't They Ask Evans? - my favorite Agatha Christie. Agatha Christie was a mainstay in my life from ages 10-17. And I love her stories still today. I can't get enough of this one.
4. Touch Not the Cat by Mary Stewart - the ultimate romance.
5. Size Twelve Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot - At the time, I was fledgling writer doubting that anyone would want to read stories in my zany, non-traditional "voice." Then I read Size Twelve Is Not Fat, the first Meg Cabot I ever read, and I heard the angels singing!! I was not alone in my own little literary black hole - there was a vast, wonderful universe of Chick Lit out there and I couldn't wait to blast off with books of my own!

My phone. There is always a book in my pocket!

You can take a look at it on the Meet Me page on my website. http://gvrcorcillo.com/meet-me. But actually, I straightened it up quite a bit for that picture. It is a mess of post-it notes, notecards, empty bottles and glasses of caffeinated beverages, books, books, books, keys, pens, pencils, my cell, a computer, and cats. Always a cat. Usually right on the damn keyboard.