When I'm not writing, I'm often working on creating portraits of my characters using 3D image software, or by drawing and painting.

I write at home and it must be quiet. I often 'see' the story in my head, almost like a movie. Sometimes, I meditate on what I want to write. It's as though the creativity is like a flowing river and I have to open the gates to let it through. Once the writing starts flowing, I don't want to stop until I finish a chapter or scene.

I often use 3D software to create the scene, then I finalize the cover image in GIMP.

I'm a fantasy writer and I read fantasy, too. I also like mysteries, steampunk, and science fiction.

I will read books on anything: Kindle, Nook, Calibre, print, my computer, my phone.

My desk is cluttered, like my head.

I grew up in the country, and then we moved to a small city. How did this influence my writing? What are you, my therapist? We don't have time to get into that.

I love giving my characters a place to exist!

To me, writing is about more than entertainment. I have a message to give to readers. I want to make people think. When people read my work, I want them to take away something of lasting value that has a beneficial impact on their lives.

Besides writing, I fence at a sword club, go for long walks, enjoy a little gardening, and I like to paint, draw, embroider, and sew.

I designed the cover for my book using 3D software. The image in the background is a photo I took of Mt. Baker, in Washington state.

I made the map and drew the image for the compass. I'm sharing the full colour map online, on my Web site and author pages, so people can see it better. It's hard to make out in the print edition. I had to go with black and white to keep costs down. It didn't make sense to choose colour printing for just one image.

The short answer is that British spelling seemed to fit the style of the book. The long answer is that my grandmother was English, my mother is English-Canadian, my father is American, and I was born in the U.S., also, which means that when I asked the three of them how to spell a word, I received 2 or 3 different answers. I learned to spell in different ways, so I had to pick one. It's difficult to remember which group uses which spelling. Please don't ask me how to spell the word lisense, licence, lisence, license--that word is spelled differently in England, Canada, U.S., and I think the Australians use yet another spelling, but I'm not sure because I'm confused now.

Epona Author Solutions. Kit is great to work with!

Dan Christy was a student teacher in my 9th grade English class. He encouraged me to write and keep writing.