I grew up in Colorado, in the mountains. I could walk down the road and be in a national park. Our backyard stretched for several acres, and the dogs and I would have a grand time roaming around and pretending we were on some great adventure. I even made a little clubhouse underneath some tree branches.

I think growing up there helped to expand my imagination. When you're a kid and you have all this land to roam through, you can be anything from a miner panning for gold, or an outlaw hiding from the sheriff, or even an archeologist digging in the dirt. As I grew up, the adventures I imagined going on were told in the stories I would write.

Well, I have to admit, modern fiction isn't something I enjoy. My favorite authors are from years ago, but they're classics. Marion Zimmer Bradley, Ursula LeGuin. They both delved into things that left me in awe. Identity and gender identity and where the two of them cross. I also love Elizabeth Peters; her Amelia Peabody books are a delight to sink into.

Several years ago I also found Simon Toyne, whose work I enjoy. I think his first book was the best, though. Then of course there's Neil Gaimon. Naomi Novik. Melinda Lo. Adaptation, by Melinda Lo, is a fantastic book.

I think the biggest joy I get out of writing is simply telling the story. Stories are part of our life, whether we're telling our own to someone else, or sharing another person's story. Yet we never seem to get enough of reading or seeing stories. Whether it's a book, a movie, or television, or even a video game, stories seem to make the world go round. They certainly do for me, and telling a new story is my joy.

I don't, actually, because I was seven at the time. We were supposed to write a few paragraphs about something and I turned it into four pages about some adventure that never happened. The first story I can remember writing, though, was a horror story about a vampire in a graveyard. I do enjoy writing paranormal stories because you never know what will happen.

I'm either reading, or working in the garage. I like to work with my hands and build things. I wouldn't say I'm great, but I'll say this: if I build a piece of furniture, it's not going to fall apart.

I also do some volunteer work with a Woman's Club, handling their newsletter. It's another creative outlet for me and I really enjoy it.

I probably don't read new stuff as much as I should. My partner reads a little more than I do, so she often will recommend things, or a friend will. There are times I'll go through a book search on a website, choosing category, then narrowing it down one click at a time. That's how I found Robert Masello's The Romanov Cross.

I do love reading on my iPad, but I also really like my Kobo device. One is for home, the other is for if I'm going to be out and have to fill in some waiting time.

My desk. Hm. Well, I needed one that would fit into a certain size space, and couldn't find any I liked. So, I made one. There's a built in shelf below the desktop for notebooks, a large drawer, and a shelf built in at the back of the desktop for books. Mainly I keep my books on writing there -- books on names, plot development, a dictionary, and whatever research book I've been reading lately. The color is cherry. And it's usually covered in notes, and cds, an empty soda can, and a couple of Funco Pop figures.

The story behind Chasing the Ghost Wave is pretty simple. I love watching shows about the paranormal, and I kept seeing people on these shows using EMF meters, to detect electromagnetic energy. I didn't think much of it until I found myself watching a science show about magnetic waves, and I wondered what frequency these EMF meters were detecting. Then I wondered if there was a way to tell if they were picking up radio or microwaves or something. From what I could tell, there wasn't -- and from there I was off and writing.

I've got two things I'm working on. I have a novel based in Ancient Egypt that's finished but needs some major editing. So, that's in the works. The other thing I'm slowly working on is something I've never tried before. It's kind of a space saga, with aliens, and betrayal, and good guys and bad guys. It's the space and aliens that I've never tried before, so -- could be fun.

I don't know that I have many fans, yet. But I am a fan of many things myself: US Women's Soccer, Xena, Wonder Woman, Fun Home, and many more. Fandom is a special thing, and not something to be dismissed.

Fans are people, who have the same hopes and dreams, triumphs and traumas as the rest of us. For a fan to devote energy to my writing, my stories -- that's an amazing feeling for me. And if anyone wants to talk to me about what I've written, I'd be more than happy to do so. Because Fans are special, and I look forward to hearing their thoughts.