I enjoyed writing by the time I was in my early teens, but did not see it as a full-time career possibility until I was in my early thirties. I started writing more seriously then--first plays, then screenplays, and finally, novels.

In a word, age. Through the years of writing I had rejections, many with very nice notes of encouragement. I would lose interest in submissions and go on to the next project. When I decided to write a mystery series I worked on the first two books in tandem, fine-tuning the characters and getting the humor where I wanted it. When I finished, I thought, "Heck, it could be years before these could get published." I was in my late fifties. Thankfully, self-publishing was a reasonable option.

Smashwords is technical and moral support, even though you never talk to a person. The Smashwords Style Guide taught me how to format a book, and I have applied those techniques to other online retailers. The blog posts are very helpful nuts and bolts about the publishing industry and its changes. Finally, being able to sell on multiple sites with only one submission is a big plus.

Being able to create characters and settings that I like is important to me. I especially like writing when I enjoy a particular character.

Fans are touchstones. I write what I want, but in a practical world it is the fans who let me earn a living through my writing. Their comments or reviews can be enlightening. When several people have the same reaction to a character -- and it's not what I expected -- I may rethink how I present the character in future books. Ultimately, what I write is my choice. It's just good fun to see what others think about it.

There's an expression, Today is the first day of the rest of your life. I am fortunate to love what I'm doing. I wake up early and go to bed late. I don't write all day, by any means, but I think a lot about my characters and pick up ideas just from seeing other people. And family and friends, of course.

I read a lot, do family history research, and keep in touch with friends. Most of that is remote contact at the moment, as I've just moved. I go to a few movies and watch a few TV shows. Some writers won't say they do the latter, but I love a good plot, on paper or the screen.

Usually I get a free book and then traipse through other books by that author. As I meet more mystery writers, I seek out their books. I read book review publications some, but not as much as I used to, since I write more.

Not really. When I got serious in the mid-1980s I first wrote a play called "Permission to Hope." I was fortunate that the Writer's Center of Bethesda, Maryland give it a staged reading. It needs a lot of editing! Maybe someday...

I don't have an exact process other than forcing myself to do it when I don't want to. That would be the middle of each book. I have written large portions of several books in coffee shops. There is activity there, but those aren't my dirty dishes piling up, so I can ignore them. I make myself write something almost every day. It can be one sentence. It's usually more.

Winnie the Pooh. I liked Piglet best. Not sure about a particular impact. My favorite book as a preteen was "Sea View Secret." It may have been the first mystery I bought, and my sister just found a copy for me at Amazon. It was a wonderful story of children taking charge, something that encouraged me.

I always have ideas. I give them to a designer as suggestions, and I've never been disappointed. I like Patty G. Henderson best.

Mysteries, mysteries, mysteries. Book clubs keep me reading literary fiction. They almost never pick books I would choose for myself, and I always love them.

I have a Kindle Fire and a Nook HD. I wish the Kindle were lighter weight. I prefer the Nook, but read more on the Kindle because I go to Amazon to hunt for freebies. Lately I have looked on the Nook for more.

I write about these on my blog (elaineorr.blogspot.com). I use Twitter (see my article on hashtags). People say it's ineffective, but I had no sales overseas until I started using it. I also think you get more when you give back, so I've developed a couple of talks on epublishing and using social media to market, and give those for free. It helps others, and calls attention to my work. I also seek guest blog posts. I should do a lot more marketing, but I like to write. As I get even more successful I'll invest in a publicist.

I created the first series (Jolie Gentil) because I wanted to write about the Jersey shore and thought I could not do it in one book. Of course, the books are about the characters more than the place, but the setting was important to me. I never thought there would be ten books (more coming). Because I love my adopted home of Iowa, a series there was almost inevitable (RIver's Edge series). It grew from experiences working in several towns along the Des Moines River. The combination of rural life and water living is compelling. Now, here's the funny part. I wrote "Tip a Hat to Murder" in 2016, intending it to be a stand-alone book set in an Illinois town (where I now live). Dang, if I didn't really enjoy those characters and want to continue them. So, three series! Sometimes I wonder if it's...lazy to want to use the same characters, but I don't think so. They just kind of grab your heart and won't leave.