I love that moment when the story comes together. It goes from being this jumble of ideas and dialogue into my head to a something tangible with a beginning and an end.

I love my readers! I can’t believe I get to tell stories for a living and that other people want to read them. It’s unreal to me. I absolutely love it when a reader tells me how much they enjoyed one of my books.

I’ve always got a few ideas percolating. Up next is a shared world project with some amazing authors.

Oh man, too many to say. Do I have to pick?

Reading. I read a lot.

I like getting recommendations from reader’s groups on Facebook or on Goodreads. If I really enjoyed a book, I’ll stalk the author and see what else they’ve written.

I’m half plotter-half pantser when it comes to writing. I spend a lot of time thinking about the tropes I want to play with, the characters, what they want and what their deal is. Everyone has baggage. I gather up visual inspiration and make a Pinterest board, usually for setting and maybe some character portraits. Then I make a very broad outline that hits a few key moments in the story, like the first meeting or the first kiss.

Then I’m off. The first three chapters tend to be most difficult to write because I’m flailing around searching for the story’s voice. Once I figure out the character’s voices, the story flows.

The first story I wrote was in crayon and was mostly drawings. It was called “Momma and the Snowstorm.” I think I was five or six at the time.

I think it was Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey. It was the first book that really grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. The story world seemed so vivid and I didn’t want to leave.

Just five? Gosh, this is so hard.

Human Croquet - Kate Atkinson. It’s got time travel and family secrets.
To Kill a Mockingbird - Every time I read this I feel like I discover something new.
Persuasion - Jane Austen. I used to think this book was about regret, but it’s meaning has changed the older I get. I feel Anne Elliot’s heartbreak so keenly and then her joy.
Blackout/All Clear - Connie Willis. More time travel, missed connections, and succeeding despite yourself.
Last Hour of Gann - R.Lee Smith. When I picked up one of her books, I just can’t stop reading. The world building is staggering and an interesting study in how the world shapes the characters.

I started writing in high school, scribbling into notebooks. I never really finished anything, but I had a lot of “chapter ones”. I wrote my first book over summer vacation when I was 16. It was a thriller and it was terrible. Don’t ask.