I'm working on a scifi romance series. Book one has been accepted by Fiery Seas Publishing. I took a break to write The Grace Seekers. And now, break time is over--- the next book in the Star Navigator Series is beckoning to me.

I spend my non-writing time as a bookworm. I'm either reading or searching for interesting books Then there's the life stuff one has to do stay in balance and harmony and on the 'normal' side of sanity.

Lots of trawling and browsing in virtual libraries, and bookstores usually nets the ebooks that catch my interest. And sometimes--but rarely--- plain old happenstance through social media and special interest groups. .

Yes---as a kid. Of course it was a muddle from an adult's viewpoint. I loved mythology and fairy tales as a kid. I devoured them, so the story incorporated mythological figures and a heroine with super powers, who didn't know her own powers. Like I said---it was a mawkish muddle. However, I clearly remember the sudden clarity and insight I gained about life-stuff and being human while I wrote it. My kid-story helped me to make sense of my world.

If an idea hits me and doesn't let go, I'll sit down and try to capture the 'wow' factor about the story in words. This is always fun, because I'm unleashing my imagination and allowing it to run free! Such a rush. Then at a certain point in the story, reality sets in and I realize facts and behind-the-scene mechanisms need to be worked in to make the action believable, and to keep the story plot flowing. That's when the tough---and sometimes not-so-fun---writing begins. So first, I sketch out the beginning, and then I have to create the nuts and bolts for the story structure.

I read like there was no tomorrow when I was a kid and teen. The very first story I ever read was kiddie fare that was supposed to whet children's little appetites for reading. By my teen years I always had my nose in a book. How about I tell you about the first story I ever read that truly lured me into a mature attempt at writing my first science fiction story? This happened in my freshman high school year. It was a short story called The Wind People by Marion Zimmer Bradley in a science fiction anthology book. That short story kicked off my imagination. It was so evocative and resonated with what I wanted to create. And so, I began writing SF and fantasy with serious intent after that.

I like the older generation of cover designs on the sci-fi /fantasy paperback books that depicted a story scene or told you something about the 'flavor' of the book. The cover art design back then was reminiscent of movie theater posters. Epic. I loved the artwork, because art was a hobby for me. I used to paint the stories I wanted to tell before I started using words to give them reality. I strove for the same old era SF book look to create cover designs for The Grace Seekers. It required much time and consideration about the particular story point I wanted to present. This entailed long searches for the right models and background motifs. Several designs were made and rejected in the process. I frequently corralled my spouse into captive-audience cover design viewing and selection sessions (Whadd'ya think of this one? Why? What about this one? Why?). Poor guy....

This is an issue I'm still working out. I'm new to the indie publishing world. The social media venues are bewildering and time-consuming to manage. I'm trying to convince myself that it isn't detracting from my writing time, and that ALL forms of writing---even marketing bits---is good writing exercise. However, so far my media efforts aren't exactly earth-shaking. I don't know that all this flag waving is going to garner much attention from new readers with competition from so many new authors and a storm of new ebooks arriving on the scene daily---hourly---and by the minute. People have become incredibly creative and unleashed their inner writers with the indie publishers like Smashwords. I'll have to trust to dharma and that readers will find my book(s).... Kind of like a 'If you write it, they will come' credo.

I don't want to talk about my desk.

Don't want to talk about that, either.