I was around 8 when I first pulled out a notebook and set about to write a story. The story was about a horse named Raindrop whose Mother was about to give birth to a new foal and how she felt about that. Later in the story Raindrop meets a young stallion who she falls in love with. I was surprisingly detailed when I was writing the scene where the two infatuated horses rendezvoused at a lake in the moonlight. This should have been a hint to my parents of the future hours they would have to endure with me watching Jane Austen movies and the like.

I've always wanted to be a writer, but honestly, the traditional realm of publishing is hard to break into and just as hard to stay in. I know of A-MAZING authors whom I absolutely love who have been dropped by their publishers for not having enough sales. Are their stories bland? Have they run out of interesting ideas? NO! Publishing houses are businesses, they have a bottom line, and if you're stories aren't selling...well, you can't sit at the cool kid's table. (I'm not bitter, I'm just sayin'.)
I want to write stories based on where my heart is leading me, not were a margin on a sales record is directing me, so being an indie author is the right fit for me at this point in my life.

Writing is such a personal thing. Even when you're nothing like the character you're writing, or you've never been in the situation that you've created, somehow, in even the smallest ways, there is a piece of you in every word. There may be a feeling portrayed, or a piece of dialogue, or something within a scene that is reminiscent of a moment in your life, it's like chronicling what you've experienced and getting to share it with someone else.

Oh goodness! I've actually got THREE stories in the works, and they are all battling for my attention. I won't tell you too much about them because I don't want to ruin the surprise, but I will say that one is set in Regency England, another is in Colonial Day America, and the third is set in the early 1900's on Coney Island.

I love Classic Literature...so the usual suspects can be found in the line up. Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Alexandre Dumas, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, C.S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien.

As for authors of the 21st century, Mary Lu Tyndall and Jeffery Overstreet are in the top 10 for sure. If you've never heard of them or read any of their work, find a copy NOW! I can assure you that you won't be sorry!

It practically goes with the territory for a writer to love reading. Reading seems less of a past-time and more of a necessity.
I also spend time taking photographs and designing graphics.
I also like to draw and paint, though I don't spend as much time developing those interests as I should. Probably because I spend WAY too much time on Pinterest and Instagram looking at other people's brilliant arts and craftiness.

Yes, one of the very first FIRST stories I wrote was an exciting listing of animals and what makes them different from one another. I was probably 7 or 8 describing an ant eater and the reason why it has such a long nose. Riveting stuff that.

I go about my day to day until BAM! a random idea pops into my brain and refuses to put itself out. I will either jot down the gist of the meager story line I've got, or I sit down and write out the first couple of pages just to have a character out there and breathing (so to speak).
I've heard the term called "seat of your pants writing" and that is definitely the style I lean towards. I somewhat flesh out a plot, but not really. Most of the time I just sit in front of the computer and see what happens. Probably not the best writing advice, and certainly not for everyone, but any time I attempt to do it a different way it makes everything entirely more grueling and then I just put it off. So I would rather write in a haphazard manner that I can clean up later than be so bogged down with pre-planning that I never write anything at all!

I have worked in the area of design for several years now and LOVE it! Since I am the author and know all the elements of the story inside and out I find it easy to think of different aspects to show on the cover.
I personally like covers that don't reveal too much. A face turned away, a shadowy figure. It just needs to be intriguing.

My desk... Well, it's a pretty cramped space. I've got a laptop connected to a larger monitor which takes up most of the room. A separate keyboard, speakers, an external hard-drive and my mouse. I've also got a slinky for those times when my brain goes into a writing lull.

I read the majority of my ebooks on my Nook Color.