I was born to French speaking parents in Quebec, Canada, but spent five years in Miami where I learned English. I was 7 years old when we moved down there and my fondest memories are from that time.

I guess the biggest influence is that I can write in English. Had we not moved there, my English would be minimal or non-existent.

I dabbled a bit in my mid-twenties, but didn't think I was very good. I put aside the idea and didn't think about until 2008. I had an idea, thought it'd make a good story and started writting. I didn't even have a computer at the time, so I wrote by hand.
Then another idea came, and another, and another. Soon I had 5 manuscripts finished and ready. Of course getting them out there proved to be more difficult than writing them.

Hayden's Will is an adventure romance that actually came to me at a time when things weren't going very well with my boyfriend. I wanted to escape to the wilderness, climb mountains, breathe in fresh air. And of course, as I romanticized the whole thing, a handsome young guide came into the picture... and the whole story started to build from there. I wanted this story to be an all around adventure.

As much as I love to write, I had a really hard time with query letters and trying to get an agent. That's partly why I've been sitting on these manuscripts for so long.

Well, I'm brand new to Smashword, but I'm hopeful...

Sometimes I get stuck with the story... something that doesn't work, so I go for a walk, think it through, talk it out and the solution comes to me. It's like that satisfaction of putting a piece of the puzzle in the right place.

"I Didn't Know it was You" should come out shortly. It's all about a woman who goes to her high school reunion and runs into a good looking guy she knew back then. Problem is, she can't remember who he is. The book follows her as she thinks back on her school years, until she finally puts a name to his handsome face.
Of course, now that she realizes what a great guy she let slip through her fingers, she doesn't want to let him go again.

For now my biggest fans are friends and family, but I want everyone who reads my books to enjoy the stories and want to read more.
When my sister first read my books, I loved sitting with her and talking about them. She'd tell me the parts she loved, the parts that had made her laugh, and the parts she found sad. It's great to hear how someone else interprets what I've written, good or bad.

I've read a lot of Sidney Sheldon and I loved every one of them. I also discovered Ann Marie MacDonald a while back and just love, love, love her.

Fresh air... sounds silly, but I moved out of the city last year and I love the smell of... I don't know, whatever it is that smells so good out here; the trees I guess.
I have a river with ducks in the backyard and a forest with deer in the front yard. Even on a rainy day, it's beautiful.

I love to go hiking, especially in the fall when it's cool and the bugs are gone. And kayaking up the river is always nice.
I have to admit to a fair amount of watching TV, too.

I wrote two stories in my twenties. One was called Between a Rock, and was about a girl in a rock band. The other one was about a guy who wakes up after a car accident, learns that his wife and son died in the accident and decides to take get his revenge on bad drivers.

A little haphazard, I have to admit. I have a hard time staying organized.
For the most part, I work out the major chunk of the story in my head before I even sit down. I don't sweat the small détails, but figure out where I want the story to go and how.
Then I sit down to write it all out, then go back to clean up.
I kind of look at it like an artist with a painting. Sketch it out, paint in the major strokes, come back for highlights and shadows.

It would probably go all the way back to Ribsy and/or Charlotte's Web. (I was twelve)
The first story to really make a huge impact on me was That was Then, This is Now, by S.E. Hinton.
I absolutely loved it and it's the only book I've read more than once.

Mystic River - I loved this so much, I actually stopped writing for six months because I realized I'd never be able to write like that. Of course, my books aren't in the same style, but I was still in such awe.

As the Crow Flies - You know when they say a book is a page turner... For me this was the opposite in the sense that I wanted to savor it. I'd read only a few pages at a time and then just ponder on what I'd read.

Fall to Your Knees - I just love her writing style.

The White and The Gold by Thomas B. Costain. Spanning the first 80 years of Canada's history, I was fascinated by this book, despite having hated history when I was in school. I might have been more interested back then had we had this book to read.

The story came to me in a backward sort of way. I was looking for an original title, and came up with I Didn't Know it Was you. Then I asked myself, what would this book be about. The story came to me surprisingly fast after that.

Not really. Her years in high school were a lot more action packed. The only similarity is her gang of friends. Back in high school we were a large group of kids who hung out together. But none of the events ever happened.

I wrote Killer in Her Bed a few years ago and I'm now running through it. I had hoped to have it out before the end of the year, but I think it'll be ready next spring.