Like many writers, I have been a life-long wordsmith. I wrote my first story when I was ten years old. It was about a young dragon that wanted to help lost kids find their way home.

With the Internet tools available to indie authors, the opportunity to put my stories out for readers without going through an agent or publisher is very liberating. This freedom inspires me to do my best.

Clockpunk is the mellower cousin of the popular Steampunk fantasy genre. Instead of the gritty steam-powered gadgets found in Steampunk, the Clockpunk reader is immersed in a 16th century Renaissance-style world stuffed with clockworks and Leonardo da Vinci flying machines.

My writing muse is shy after the demands of my day job, so instead we both get up very early (middle of the night, actually) and spin stories before the day clutters up my brain

In my newest Clockpunk Wizard story, Old Bony Blue Eyes, a wizard faces a dangerous journey to Sir Death’s castle to win a powerful spell book for a love-starved dragon.

This story is from a manuscript I drafted almost 20 years ago for a publisher who wanted a series of fantasy novellas. Although the publisher declined the series, I saved the stories about a wizard-for-hire who flew his airship between the floating islands in his plate-shaped ocean world. I recently dusted them off, incorporated Leonardo da Vinci technology and clockworks elements, and updated the writing craft (considerably).

I do a lot of research on historical and literary fantasy elements. I want to get the mythos right. I also do this so I can put my own twist on things. For example, in the Clockpunk Wizard stories, elves are short-lived magicians. In the traditional fantasy canon, elves are a long-lived race.

I am very organized. I plan out each scene in a spreadsheet and answer all of the mechanical questions about which characters are in the scene, the time of day, location, and their conflict for the scene. After I finish the plan, I write the first draft. Then comes several rounds of editing.

For my first year as an indie author, I had a very tight budget for my writing. I downloaded a free graphic design tool, taught myself how to use it, and created my own book covers. I humbly say that my talents are with writing stories rather than designing book covers. I now use professionally designed book covers.

It was Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss when I was 4 years old. I loved the silliness of the story, and I was so proud when I could read it all by myself.

I am an eclectic reader. As long as the story has a fantasy theme and is not YA, I am likely to enjoy it. Why no YA? I didn’t relate to my angst-ridden peers when I was a teenager. Now I especially don’t have the patience to read about their youthful and foolish ways.

My next project is Glitter Ponies. In this Clockpunk Wizard story, Lady Luck’s daughter helps a wizard discover the cause of a mysterious unicorn illness.

Kindle Fire.