I've always used a simple Nook device for online reading. I don't opt for a more sophisticated device since I only read books on it; no surfing or web searches.

I've had some fun with Twitter, but having my titles listed with all the major retailers has helped tremendously to get the word out. I have an author profile on Goodreads and peruse that site often since I like to read reviews of what others are reading. It's good to know what's trending at the moment!

Okay, this is odd, I know. My desk is utterly neat and I'm aware of where each pile of notebooks, post-it notes, and reminders is located. Too weird, huh? I'm very organized so when I start my marketing plan I know exactly where to find each item...maybe a little type A.

I have a set of authors on auto-buy, so when they publish a new release I grab them. I read voraciously and, of course, I search by genre when I'm looking for something by a new author.

I tend to read contemporary romance books focusing on strong, real women with real life experience. I love heroines who are sassy and flawed, making them all the more interesting to me!

Two years ago, in 2012, I started reading books I discovered online focusing on self-published authors who found it much easier to self-publish than to locate an agent and sign with a large publishing company. Since then, I've published numerous books in the contemporary romance genre and I'm having a great time.

Cover design is vital to my books. If the character description doesn't match the cover look, the genuineness of the story suffers, in my opinion. For example, it is distracting to me when the story focuses on a woman with short blonde hair and the cover shows a woman with long dark hair.

And it always helps to have a very creative graphic artist for your books, which I thankfully do!

The greatest joy of writing for me is self expression. The first book I published was loosely based on several events in my own life. It was cathartic for me to write that book, and while it was by no means an important literary novel, it helped me through a dark time.

My most current book is titled 'Fierce Defender' and centers around the second of the three Navy SEALS who served together in Afghanistan. This book was released in summer of 2014. The final book in the trilogy will be out in summer of 2015.

I enjoy reading Joey Hill, Cherise Sinclair, Sandra Brown, Kresley Cole, and many more. These authors weave believable characters and interesting plots that grab hold and don't let go. As a result, I occasionally feel let down when the story ends because I enjoyed the book so much. Often I have to shake myself when reading their books because I have to realize I'm reading FICTION!!

My story ideas usually come to me very early in the morning as I sit with that first vital cup of coffee. It's very quiet in the house, no one is stirring in the neighborhood and the birds are beginning their wake-up calls. Ideas, dialogue, and plots flood into my head and characters start parading their demands to be heard. I jot down abstract thoughts and ideas and they snowball from there.

Whoever said that voices in our heads are a sign of illness is wrong!!