I grew up north of Detroit in the heart of Michigan's auto-worker country, which probably explains my love of rough-and-tumble guys and plucky gals from working-class backgrounds.

I wrote my first "book" in grade school -- some ridiculous love story starring two cute bunnies. Alas, I promptly lost track of it, which means it won't be published any time soon. (Whew!)

I love books, and I love being able to control my own destiny -- which makes me so incredibly thankful for all those wonderful readers who give indie authors a chance.

Smashwords isn't just a great service for getting my books to readers on various platforms, it's also a strong advocate for indie authors. Since I began publishing with Smashwords a few years ago, I've always appreciated the market insights and promotional opportunities, too.

I LOVE, love, LOOOOOOOOVE my fans. Their encouragement and enthusiasm is the absolute best kind of inspiration, and I thank my lucky stars for them every day!

Jane Austen. (Oh, my God, is there anyone like Darcy? Swooooon!) I also love Jeaniene Frost, especially her "Night Huntress" Series and Lauren Willig, especially her "Pink Carnation" Series. On the non-romance front, I'm a huge fan of Robert B. Parker's "Spenser" detective novels.

Ice cream, "Game of Thrones" on HBO, and Dungeon-Crawler Video Games.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Embarrassingly, I'm pretty sure I've watched it a dozen times by now.)
Fight Club. (I'd tell you more, but you know the first rule...)
Pride & Prejudice (The BBC Version with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. Love it!)

I start out with the best intentions and a rough outline. Then, I write the first chapter, and everything changes. My characters behave badly, and almost never do the things they're supposed to. (The nerve!). By the end, my story looks a lot different from the original outline, and I'm wondering, "How the heck did that happen?" Happily, the surprises are normally good, or at least interesting, so that's good!

I read a little bit of (almost) everything -- particularly romance, mysteries, and non-fiction. Whenever possible, I'll indulge in the audiobook versions, because it's so neat to be able to listen while I get things done around the house. (Multi-tasking, don't you love it?)