It would have been one of my creative writing efforts from primary school. I might have been ten or eleven... I think it might have been about a carriage horse in Sherlock's London. I was seriously in Sherlock Holmes back then; can't say I am anymore :-D

There were two. I got both starter books one Christmas back when I was seven or so. There was Pano The Train (I still love trains) and Crispin Christian (which was very hard for me to read. It was about a brown bear in a straw hat who went fishing. I loved both books for different reasons: Pano because it was fun to read about the brave train, and Crispin because it meant I was a Real Reader--that I could break up words and read anything!

Mostly by accident. I look at the Smashwords homepage , read the blurbs and decide if they might be interesting. I also follow links from blogs or social media I've found interesting. I'm almost never reading what everyone else is reading--always been out of sync that way :-D

I take photos, mostly of nature. I chat to my friends and family, or I read a book or watch a movie. I love travelling too, so I often start to research holidays even if I can't yet afford them :-D And then I day-dream too...

I'm not sure...

Haphazardly, as opposed to wizardly, as you may have guessed :-D

The tarot and other divination methods has always fascinated me. As soon as I could, I began teaching myself to read the tarot and bugging everyone I knew to let me practice reads on them. I had a lot of free time back then, so would spend 6-10 hours a week learning the cards and how to read. I was fortunate to have two good mentors in Johannesburg, and by remaining true to my integrity and original intention to help people reach their potential, my ability as a reader grows.
As for my writing, occasionally I might use the tarot to resolve a plot point if I have writer's block, or to look deeper into a character and their motivation. Then too, while all my readings are confidential, I do get a lot of inspiration from the events I see in my client's lives and the awesome people I've met while reading.

I'm very much a story-lover, be it oral, written or performed. So, for me, the greatest joy in writing lies in sharing a story -- hopefully one which eventually brings hope, joy and understanding to you. If it makes you smile or think twice, so much the better for both of us :-D

Verulam -- a small town in Durban, South Africa -- is my home-town, and the place I keep coming back to. It's on the east coast of South Africa, almost directly west of Perth, Australia and about four hours away from the Mozambiquan border. Verulam is quite a historic town and was very colonial and industrial when I was growing up. It's grown very large over the past twenty years, and is not as sleepy as it once was. Much of the sugar-cane fields have also given way to housing and other development.
There wasn't much to do as a teenager, so I read a lot, and then decided that I had to be a writer. Boredom and my nature meant I read lots of fantasy, suspense and the odd historical novel. As a result, these are the genres I'd prefer to write, and imagining that something magical was needed to relieve the boredom means I tend to write magical realism.
I didn't get much support for my writing except from three teachers and some close family, as fantasy was frowned upon and regarded as not being 'serious' or 'literary' books.
It's only recently, in short stories like 'Strive' (see Foreigners) that I've begun to explore Verulam in my writing.