I grew up in Illinois. I am part of a large, German-American family and I believe that this influenced my writing. The Beckers are also a German-American family.

I started writing short stories at the age of 12 and sometimes wrote essays. I was writing longer, novel-sized books by 16. I have always wanted to write and publish my work.

When I was a child between the ages of 6 and 12, I attended a residential school for the blind as I have been blind since birth. During that time, I saw my family only 4 times a year. I come from a large family and missed being a part of their lives. So my roommate and I made up a family called the Beckers. WE made up stories about them and sometimes they seemed more like my family than those I was raised with. When I decided to write about them, I wanted to make them unique in some way. Since I was a Quaker at the time of writing this book, I made them Quakers too. I am currently working on two other books about this family. The one that is published now is the middle one in the series.

My biggest motivation to become an Indie author was that I wanted my books to be published and thought that I should reap the benefits of that instead of a publishing company. Also, it is very difficult to get a book published by a large company unless you have an agent. and I don't like the idea of someone getting a certain percentage of the money just for doing what I can do myself.

My greatest joy in writing has two parts. First, there is the simple beauty of words. Words have always fascinated me. I believe that since I am unable to see, woreds are my way of "seeing" things. When a writer can paint vivid pictures with his/her words, then I will read everything he/she writes. Second, I am a Christian. My books are Christian fiction because I believe it is a ministry to share the Gospel in what I write. Also, I believe it is a ministry to help my fellow believers deepen their spiritual lives and walk the way of Jesus Christ.

SSmashwords has given me the opportunity to publish my book and to promote it through this interview and other devices. I appreciate the distribution of my book to other Ebook stores and the ease of use of the website.

My fans are amazing! They validate my love for this family and encourage me to keep writing.

I am working on a prequel to THE SECRET OF FAIR HILL called FAIR HILL, and a sequel called WEST FROM FAIR HILL.

Some of my favorite authors are: Cindy Woodsmall, Beverly Louis, James Patterson, John Grisham, Pat Conroy, James Carroll, Jeff Shaara, Nathaniel Philbrick, and Edward Rutherfurd.

I have many reasons to get out of bed each day. One is my husband. Another is my writing, and another is my Lord. I also enjoy doing handwork to sell, and teaching computer skills to other blind people.

I teach blind adults how to use computers. I also have a home-based business through which I sell my handmade items. I also spend a great deal of time writing and reading. I believe that reading makes me a better writer.

I am a member of bookbub.com, and I also look on smashwords and other sites. I am also following some of my fellow writers on twitter and read their books.

Yes. The first story I ever wrote was the result of a challenge from my brother-in-law. He said I should try a horror story. He thought my idea of writing historical fiction was not a good one. So I wrote him a story to fit his chosen genre. He said I had succeeded in answering the challenge. The story was about a boy who kills his mother, then realizes how alone he is without her.

I usually come up with a plot, then sometimes I outline the plot, but sometimes I just start writing and see where it goes. this may take more editing after the draft, but I find it more interesting.

It is difficult to remember what my first story to read was, as I have been a lifelong reader. I think my favorite as a child was Peter Pan. But the first one that made me want to write was LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODS. I have long wanted to write a autobiography, but I'm not sure how to write it. I admire those who can.

For my first book, I asked my husband to design the cover. Since I cannot see, this is not something I can do myself. I may either continue to have him design my covers, or hire someone from Mark's list to do it.

This is a difficult question since I have so many favorites. But the first one that coes to mind is THE CLOWNS OF GOD by Morris West. This was a life changing spiritual experience for me. I reread it when I need to revisit that experience. Another would be THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH by Ken Follette. this one is also one that I reread. It gave me a better perspective of how the Church has worked in history, sometimes for good and sometimes not. I am glad he wrote wORLD WITHOUT END to finish the story. Another one I like enough to read again is SARUM by Edward Rutherfurd. This book tells of how Salsbury Cathedral was built. I love the way the builders and the monks and everyone else who has anything to do with it become a community. I was lucky to visit that cathedral a few years ago and it meant more than it ever could have without reading that book. Rutherfurd's books about London and russia are also in my favorites list.

I read many different types of books for pleasure. My interests are varied from nonfiction and history to biographies and fiction. I like all kinds of fiction too, from Cindy Woodsmall to Nicholas Sparks.

I cannot use a kindle or other ebook device to read as they are not very accessible for the blind. But I do have the app from Amazon for kindle for PC and I do use that. I also have portable devices without screens that use text to speech to read books. I can download them from the web in readable formats and most of them are free. I can also use adobe editions on my computer.

I am still working on finding good marketing techniques. I have put ads on twitter and facebook which have gotten results. I also have a page on facebook for my book and have put ads on different yahoo groups of which I am either a member or a moderator. I have an author page on amazon as well. But I am always looking for new ideas.

I write using a laptop so I don't usually use a desk. My favorite place to write is in my recliner with the laptop on my lap. I have a desk, but seldom use it.