I was born and raised in Memphis, TN. I don't think that this influenced my writing, aside from my writing "voice" and the characters that I choose (my main characters will always be southern). It was my race, actually that influenced my writing. Growing up, there weren't that many African American fictional books to read; only autobiographies and poetry books that had collections written by slaves. I was into the Sweet Valley High series and the only thing I had in common with it was that I was a teen as well! They were good books but I couldn't relate fully. I wanted something that I could relate to that wasn't a poem or an autobiography. That influenced me to pick up a pencil or a pen and write something myself. I never looked back!

An actual story? Yes. Several come to mind: I was ten and my teacher, in order to get us familiar with our vocabulary for the week, gave us an assignment to write a short story using the words. My two most memorable ones were one that depicted what a labor and delivery nurse went through as far as her day in a whole, and one that was written in the form of a game show. I was lectured about the labor and delivery one, the teacher saying that I was too young to write about something like that. Which made me a bit upset because I had got my aunt to help me with that one! The other I was lectured on as well: the theme the teacher gave us that week was "Live from Capitol Hill". At ten years old, how was I supposed to know that she was talking about Congress?!

It's unorthodox in my opinion. When an idea comes to me, I write it down. Most of my story ideas are just the overall theme of what I want to write about. The actual flow of the story comes later and possibly while I sit there writing! I only see spurts of events that happen in my stories; the rest is pulled out of my brain on the spot!

WHen I'm not writing, I'm crocheting. I am still in the beginning phases of it but I have completed a few projects for family members. My goal there is to be able to finish great quality projects for others!

The greatest joy is the feeling of creating something that came from myself. It's hard to do in fan fiction; the world is already created for you. But, it's creating the extra characters to be in that world that thrills me. Also, the feeling that when I write, I can get lost into that world for the time being. I don't have to worry about real life situations when I get into that zone: I'm part of whatever book I'm working on at that moment. It's like an escape but it's one of your own creation.

I mainly go off of suggestions from my sister-in-law. We seem to have similar interests and I don't think I've been disappointed in anything that she's suggested! Otherwise, I tend to stick to the same genres. The sites that I use often give me a recommended list based on what I've either searched for or added to my collection.

It is most definitely my phone. With the technology of smart phones combined with Android, there is no need for me to go out to get a Kindle or Nook or even an iPad! Many of those apps are available right on a Droid-based smart phone and are free!

My fans mean the world to me and that's because I don't get many. There aren't a lot of people who are interested in what I write (which at the moment is fan fiction so I have yet to see how many fans I can truly obtain) so those who do and are kind enough to leave me a comment are very cherished. Those silent readers are cherished as well!