I grew up outside the small Texas town of Big Sandy. My grandfather had a small farm and we all pitched in to make things work. This influenced my writing first by making me a reader. We didn't have a lot of money to go on vacations. So anything I found out about the outside world was from reading. Second, along with the farm, reading taught me how to be alone. To get lost inside my own head and imagine worlds and lands. Third, there was a lot of mystery growing up in the country. The forest, which is a trope in many a fantasy, was ever calling my cousins and I to go exploring.

If you've never listened to the wind sing a lament through pine boughs, you are missing out on a truly spiritual experience. Feeling the leaves crunching under your feet on a cold winter day while you traipse through the woods, it always brings a smile to my face.

My first attempt at a novel was in the seventh grade. A murder mystery! It had all of my school friends in it but I wrote myself into a corner and I didn't even know who had committed the crime. So that got shelved! I wrote a few poems here and there after that but didn't pick up writing again for many a decade later.

It's a novella and a prequel to my novel The Bloodstone Reckoning. It follows Ameline Harsent a young mage in training as she is sent out with some others to explore why people are missing in Wychering Wood, and everything falls apart. No one believes her when she tells what happened. Another group is sent out to find those missing but turns up empty handed, so it is up to Ameline alone to rescue her friends.

For me it's about control of my content. I don't want anyone telling what cover I can and cant have or which scene must be cut, or how much to charge for my books. I want to interact with readers on a personal level, not be some aloof author that's just pushing out books. I want to be asked questions, to explore the world in which my characters play out their lives. Growing up on the farm we did most everything ourselves. I have always been a DIY person. So indie suits me best in that regard.

Creating a world to get lost in. Nailing down an action scene that is thrilling and fun, and getting the climax of the story right and rewarding. And then editing it so it shines. I love the whole process really. Though I am only on my third book, but so far those processes have not gotten old at all. I love creating.

Without fans no one reads your work. I love hearing from them! Fans are great, and fun. They'll put you on the spot too, which is funny at times. Writing is my way of interacting with people because I am rather on the introverted/shy side and so if I can create something people like then I am thrilled about that.

Well of course as a fantasy author, I view J.R.R. Tolkien as the master. He is number one in my opinion. From there, I like Bernard Cornwell for his historical fiction, especially his Arthurian legend series The Warlord Chronicles. I have read those books around 14 times. Robert Jordan for his Wheel of Time series, and Robert E. Howard for his Conan books. L.E. Modesitt Jr for his Saga of Recluse series, especially The Magic of Recluse and The Death of Chaos. Lerris is one of my all-time favorite fantasy characters.

I have a day job :) and my goal is to become a full-time author so that is what inspires me to get out of bed, get the day started and get home so I can sit down and start creating.

I love to read! Honestly if you aren't a reader, writing is going to be difficult. I also love to play fantasy video games. I spent ten years playing World of Warcraft and gave it up to spend more time writing. I love Witcher 3, Geralt is my favorite gaming character. What a masterpiece that is.

I am working on my third book, the second in my trilogy. It is tentatively titled Champion of the Light, though I know that is going to change. It is the sequel to my novel The Bloodstone Reckoning, which follows Tabitha Millhouse on her journey from finding out she is magic-born and slated to become the next Earth Mother, as she faces the demon Lord Camulus who is at this point invading her dreams. I am 22k words in so far so I have a ways to go.