Nearly everything I write is inspired by random happenings or encounters when I'm out and about--I'll jot down notes on a scrap of paper if I have one, and I'll head straight to the laptop when I get home to capture what happened in words.

I currently work full-time as an ESL teacher at a local high school in ShenZhen, China. I teach 1000 students a semester, and I absolutely love my job!

Haha! Yes, in fact, I do. I remember the very first time I sat down to write a "book." I was 7or 8 years old, and my book was called "The Cowboy." I think it was inspired by my little brother, whose favorite thing was the Old West. I cannot really remember anything about the book other than the fact that it was about a cowboy.

The first novel I read on my own was "Little Women," when I was 6 years old. I still have special place in my heart for that book. I always kind of wanted to grow up to be Jo.

My desk is almost always littered with hand-written notes containing the scribbles of things I plan to write on the computer when I get around to it...

I spent my teen years in Malaysia, and this has strongly influenced the topics I write about. I am very interested in the lifestyles of TCKs (Third Culture Kids), Cross-cultural relationships, and the ability to speak multiple languages, and I credit all of those interests to my upbringing in Asia.

My grandpa gave my a journal on my 7th birthday, so I think there is the proof of when and where I started. At that point, I usually wrote something to the effect of whether we had macaroni and cheese for lunch that day, so I've come a long way, I think!

I love to read my own writing years after the fact. I write down a lot of things that happen, and I've found, especially with my blog, that I would have forgotten about little funny events if I had never written them down and published them. Writing helps keep those memories alive. I also love it when other people appreciate the humor in my memories, as well.

I'm a morning person. Staying in bed would be excruciatingly boring.

As everyone does with this question, I shall count a series as 1 book, because that's only fair, right?

1. "A Series of Unfortunate Events" - This is the style of writing that has influenced my own style the most. I love all of the literary devices that Lemony Snicket uses consistently throughout his works, he's simply brilliant.

2. "Anne of Green Gables" (Series) - L.M. Montgomery was very talented, I think, at creating memorable characters throughout all of her stories. Her characters are the kind you miss, even the annoying ones, just because you got to know them so well.

3. "The Screwtape Letters" C.S. Lewis is another favorite author of mine, and I enjoy many of his works, but I find this one particularly insightful.

4. "The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes" So, they might not be the best-crafted mysteries in the history of the genre, but Sherlock Holmes is an iconic, unforgettable character.

5. "Murder on the Orient Express" I have an affinity for Hercule Poirot, too.