Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
Yes, where I was born and where I grew up greatly influenced my writing as well as my life overall. I was born in Glasgow, Scotland and at the age of six emigrated to San Francisco, California. We were but the very few Scottish families in the district of San Francisco I grew up in, which was (is) called Eureka Valley. The residents at that time were working class Irish, Italians and Scandinavians. Location wise it sits approximately in the heart of of San Francisco. Most will know the area as well-known areas known to “The Castro.” Like many immigrants, we kept to our Scottish language and cultures. I grew up listening to stories of “back home” and “the war” (that being the World War II.) The stories were funny (as are the Scots) and also sad, as is life. When I came of age during the 1960's my neighborhood, like all of San Francisco, changed rapidly. It wasn't long before I was hanging out on Castro Street with the hippies and the gays, something that shocked the many older residents. Later, I frequented Harvey Milk's photo shop as I was very into taking photographs. The rapid social and political changes of the '60's and '70's had a huge impact upon my role as a woman and with my religious teachings. All of this is reflected in my writings in both my paranormal non-fictions and novels. The flavor, history and happenings of my great city San Francisco and the connection to Scotland carried my imagination to create lively stories about strong, rebellious women.
When did you first start writing?
Let me say first, I never thought of myself as a writer, let alone an author. My real artistic talent is drawing, which I still I love to do. My first recognized writing won me an award and $25! A big deal in 1963. It was an essay I wrote in eighth grade about what it meant to become a United States citizen. It wasn't until 1984 did I write a few unpublished short stories and a stage play for a college class. In the late '80's a friend encouraged me to write a book about psychic readings. She said it would validate me more so professionally. So I did and she published the small paperback. To this day (under a new title) it continues to sell. Also about that time, an article was published that I wrote for a psychic newsletter about psychic hotlines. Not until this book came under a new title and an ebook was it included. Writing became a pleasure to share what I had been studying and learning with the metaphysics and paranormal. As I learned to navigate around the Internet I wrote articles for on-line sites and created a blog, again from the advise of a computer smart friend. My writing heart is still in stage and screenplays thus my first novel was born. I wrote The Skye in June first as a screenplay; a tribute to my sisters. If not for an author friend recommending I write the novel to the screenplay to create more attention, I don't believe I would have embarked on that goal. It was published in 2008 and followed in 2012 by my second novel, also written first as a screenplay upon the request of a Scottish actress. Since then, my latest book is again a non-fiction paranormal.
Read more of this interview.