Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up in a village surrounded by mountains of beauty and streams of creativity. Vivid imagination was all about me--I only needed to take it in. As I have grown, my ability to convert this said "surroundings" into stories has shaped who I am and how I write now. The world is a poet's paradise. Once you learn to let it inspire, one might aspire to great things.
When did you first start writing?
I have always had a burning passion to write. But everyone says that, eh? I always hated writing growing up though. It was slow and cumbersome. I would love rambling about my ideas and worlds, but the actually writing didn't take place till I came state-side. I still remember that day when my little sister can running out of her room and handed me a draft of a story she had come up it. I liked her story and the fire exploded: I couldn't let her write the first book! My brother had already mastered music and she had already mastered art--so I made my mind to claim writing! And so write I did. Yep, 2006 was a special year for me when I had overcome the barrier of belief that I was incompatible with writing.
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