I've tried dozens of different kinds of writing processes. I still think I need to learn more about working through a novel, but at the moment, I just kind of think up the story and plot out everything before I start writing. I know all of the characters names, how they act, how they talk, and exactly what will happen to them before I even open my first word document.

Yes, I was six years old and it was about my imaginary friend. I think her name was Missy, or Misty. I'm not really sure. It was a first grade writing assignment and I remember that I wrote a lot more than what was asked. The teacher was very impressed by the length of the story, but not so much on the quality of the story.

I have a degree in 2D design, so I design my own cover art, which is a little different from other writers. I find making my own book covers a nice break from writing. I love taking pictures, so most of my book covers feature a photo rather than a painted or drawn image. Because I make my own covers, I can really match the cover image and text with the feeling of the book. For instance, the image on the cover of my book Driftwood Island, is a photo of the real island that inspired the book.

Wow, only five? That's going to be tough. Um, let me think. . . . .Right off the top of my head I would say, Ghost Story by Jim Butcher. I love that book! Butcher is such an awesome writer, and that has to be his absolute best book. I love how it takes something like a ghost story and completely looks at it from a different angle. Love it! The next one would have to be Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston and LIncoln Child. I love the Agent Pendergast series and this one is my favorite. I also like the series Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber. The main character, Raven, is so quirky and funny, she really puts a smile on my face. An other funny vampire series that I really enjoy is Besty the vampire queen by Mary Janice Davidson. Undead and unemployed, the second book in that series, had me laughing so hard I nearly fell out of my desk chair. By now you've probably guessed that I like funny adventure books with monsters and stuff in them, so strangely enough, my last book has to be Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. I really love that classic. I first read it as a teenager and it really struck a cord with me. And it isn't funny, there isn't a whole lot of adventure in it, and there isn't a single monster.

My old trusty kindle, the first version of the kindle. My dad gave it to me for my birthday years ago, and now I'm kind of emotionally attached to it.

Small, white, antique. It's really a child's desk, but I'm kind of small, so it works for me. Well, sort of. It's a really small desk, but some how I've managed to cram two computers, three note books, a camera, and about a dozen empty tea cups onto it.

I think where I grew up has a huge influence on my writing. When I was little my family lived in a very urban location, and then we moved, and I lived on a very remote island for my high school and university years. The experience of seeing two very different worlds and how locations can completely change the people that live in them, definitely shows up in my writing.

I've always loved writing, since I was a little kid. So many times I would vow that I was going to start to be a professional writer, and then I would just wimp out and quit. And then one day my mom had a heart attack, there was a very real chance that she wouldn't survive. While I was waiting in the hospital to hear how she was doing, I kept thinking of all the things my mom said she wanted to do in her life. All those things that she might not get to do now. That's when I decided that I wasn't going to do that with my life. I wasn't going to be at death's door and think of all that things I didn't do. And the biggest thing that I think I would regret is not following my dreams and becoming a writer. The very next day, after I found out that my mom would be okay, I dusted off some old manuscripts that I had written in school and started re-writing them for publication. I thought of traditionally publishing them, then I heard about how long it would take to see it on book store shelves. So I decided to go with Indie publication.

Thinking up all the fun characters and imagining how they would re-act in different situations. I have a really wild imagination, so that has to be the best part of writing for me.

My next book is something really different from my first book Driftwood Island and my second book Monster in the Basement, both of which are pretty light hearted and wacky at times. This latest book, No place for fairy tales, is a lot darker and fairly gritty. It deals with some really heavy subjects and the main character goes through some really hard times. I think that's why it's been so hard for me to write. But don't worry, there will still be plenty of wacky characters, not so serious adventures, and of course monsters.

I spend a lot of time with my family, just hanging out and talking, and I also love hiking and taking photos.