Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up in suburbia in Silver Springs, Maryland.
Actually, I credit my mom for my interest in writing. She recognized early on that I loved to read and encouraged me. Getting my library card was a highlight. I read voraciously as a child. Mom would tease me and tell others to look behind the chairs or curtains to find me reading a book.
My 6th grade teacher, Mr. Marsh, encouraged the class to create a magazine. I wrote my first story for that magazine. All I remember about the story is that it was about a mysterious occurrence in the dog house in the back yard at night.
As I grew older, I found suburbia a bit dull, so I let my imagination entertain me. I wrote another story at 18, complete with outline and character biographies. It was a work in progress. Somewhere in my many moves, I lost that early novel. But, most of my stories reflect the fundamental conflicts of that first novel -- the role of women in society, what is love and what is its cost in terms of concessions, how do we change in a relationship, the role status and money play in who we marry, and is our society healthy, to ourselves and our planet?
Who are your favorite authors?
I am an avid reader. While I have read tons of books, I seem to settle on mysteries, science fiction, science and history.
I have read Carolyn Keene's Nancy Drew series, LInda Barnes, Nevada Barr, Lilian J. Braun, Raymond Chandler, Agatha Christie, Wilkie Collins, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Linda Fairstein, Dashiell Hammett, Jonathan Kellerman, Harry Kemelman, John D. MacDonald, Marcia Muller, Barbara Neely, Sara Paretsky, Robert B. Parker, and many more.
But, five authors stand out for me: Mary Stewart, Doris Miles Disney, Dick Francis, Janet Evanovich, and Dorothy L. Sayers
My teenage reading passion was Mary Stewart's novels like "My Brother Michael." Her heroines innocently got into trouble and had to think their way out of the problem with the help of a hero. In addition, she wove in history, geology, and poetry into her stories.
I loved the setting, characters and the surprise ending of Doris Miles Disney's "Who Rides a Tiger."
Dick Francis' economy of style appeals to me. He says so much in so few words. Janet Evanovich was the first author who made me laugh out loud at her characters and their predicaments. But, it was Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Whimsey series that spurred me to write. I loved how she structured her novels, how she wrote her sentences, each word had a role, a place, and an impact into how the story was built. I went back to college because of Ms. Sayers.
I used to consume science fiction novels by authors like: Isaac Asmiov, Douglas Adams, Ursula K. Le Guin, Ray Bradbury, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Octavia E. Butler, Orson Scott Card, Jack L. Chalker, Arthur C. Clarke, Harlan Ellison, Philip José Farmer, Robert A. Heinlein, Frank Herbert, Aldous Huxley, Judith Merril, Robert Silverberg, and many more. But, Spider Robinson is my favorite, especially, his works "Time Travelers Strictly Cash" and "Star Dance."
Read more of this interview.