Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up military, all over the place, and I never lived anywhere more than two or three years. In a way it was a lonely existence, since I was always losing my friends, but it forced me to live in my head a lot. I became very good at studying people and situations, and that's helped a lot in my writing for sure.
When did you first start writing?
As soon as I figured out how, I started writing! I remember my first "book" I made was this little four page deal about a grumpy worm. By the end of the book, the worm had cheered up and made a friend. Even back then, it seems I was drawn to Happily Ever After. I got serious about writing in college and took several creative writing classes, and was published in some literary magazines.
I've done it all: poetry, short stories, plays, screenwriting, and finally full length novels. I think I finished the first one of those when I was in my 30s.
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