Fans mean everything to me! You can have stories inside you, but the real joy comes from sharing them and knowing that it gives others pleasure to read them.

My first fan letter was my greatest joy. Just knowing that someone had so liked what I had written that he was anxiously waiting for the next book spurred me on to write every day.

I just finished the first draft of the fourth book in the Masters of the Storm series. I do have a continuation of the Kwagl realm in mind for another series, but I have three other books in the works that I want to work on: one thriller, one horror and another standalone (so far) fantasy set in a completely different world from Masters of the Storm. I will do that in between edits for the last masters of the Storm book.

I am editing to add that I found myself unable to work on any other projects while Masters of the Storm is not yet complete. I have now completed the first draft of the fifth book and am 10,000 words into the sixth (and planned final) book. The edits on the fourth book will be done soon. Then I will work on the other projects.

My latest book is the last one in the Masters of the Storm series. This series came about because I imagined a bunch of kids who summoned what they thought was a demon from another realm. When the being appeared, not only was it not a demon, but he certainly didn't want to obey them.

The world he comes from is one where mages control the weather because the Elements have been imprisoned for their use. The fact that the Elements are free in his new realm means that he can't use most of his magic.

In the second book, the mage and his son, who is a shaman, return to the magical realm of the mage's birth - a land that can best be described as socialism meets magic. Those who have magic are respected yet at the same time subjugated for it. Their only purpose is to serve society by regulating the weather in the case of the Elemental mages, or by using the Elements to fight demons and barbarians in the case of the combat mages.

The warrior class is similarly used by society and class hatred is pervasive between the mages and the warriors. The third book also takes place in the fantasy realm, but the fourth book marks a return to the mage's new more modern world when a posse of warriors comes in search of the lost knowledge of the Arch Mage's Arcana.

I don't sleep well. Frequently, when I am laying awake at 3 am, my characters speak to me so by morning, I need to get up and write down what we 'discussed'. Then there are the cats and dogs who are usually staring at me waiting to be fed/let outside, etc.

I write methodically in order. At first, I tried to write later scenes that came to me, but invariably I found that by the time I arrived at that point, the characters had led me in different directions and those scenes all needed to be rewritten. I usually have an idea as to the general outcome, but the specifics evolve as I tell the story.

I was always an avid reader, but the first books that had a lasting effect would have to be the Lord of the Rings series. I would spend hours creating my own worlds with different political and religious systems. I rarely had different races, though. That's something I want to explore in the standalone fantasy I've started.

I am an avid gamer and spend (probably way too much) time playing games. I have also discovered a love of drawing, especially cats. The majority of the rest of my time is spent caring for my furry family.

Anything that strikes my fancy. I have found books from almost every genre that are able to draw me in. Lately, after spending a lot of time on genealogy, I have been reading colonial records and historical books. It is fascinating to read them and realize how they differ from what we were actually taught in school.

Kindle for the beach and Kindle Fire in bed (because I can have the light off).

I am sad to say that my desk is a mess. I have tons of notebooks for notes on books in addition to all my household record keeping stuff. Add to that the fact that there is generally at least one, but usually two to three cats sleeping on top of everything, including my keyboard, and you have a recipe for disaster. It is the one area of my house that I can't seem to keep clean and orderly.

I began by looking into the publishing world, but after reading everything I could find on the subject, I decided that I didn't want to give up control of my work. Additionally, it didn't seem as though the mainstream publishers would provide much in the way of publicity or support to a new writer.

The final nail in the coffin of considering a publishing house for me was when I read a blog entry from someone who told of the head of a major house attending an industry conference and being overheard making very disparaging remarks about having to share floor space with pathetic authors desperately clutching their manuscripts. That's not the exact quote, but it's the gist of it. I decided I didn't want to share floor space with him, either, and immediately began self-publishing.

I have to say that my output is greatly increased now that I can concentrate on creating new material, rather than spending hours reformatting and submitting one-page queries, two-page queries, outlines, samples, etc. of the same thing. It really did stifle my ability to write anything new.