When did you first start writing?
I was somewhere between ten and twelve years old, I think, when I first got the idea in my head that I could write books. Everything I tried to write for years afterward never really got off the ground. I'd get a few paragraphs in, realize it was garbage or just not going anywhere, and start over. I finally worked up the nerve to start submitting short stories when I was around 17. Kept at it day after day, year after year, rejection letter after rejection letter. Finally, 25 years later, I had my first success -- a novel I'd written, "Chaser," was accepted by Keith Publications and is now in the final stage before release. A few months ago, I had another small success: I was invited to submit a story for a sci-fi/paranormal romance anthology. Romance isn't really my thing, but I gave it a try, and ended up with "Mission to Bellatrix," featuring a protagonist who became one of my favorite characters to write, Kolya Mason, a woman with half of her face all scarred up from an explosion, who remains upbeat and good-humored despite being disfigured. And I'm hoping there's nowhere to go from here but onward and upward.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
Barely. It was over thirty years ago, and since I was a kid and just getting started, it was crap. Hah.
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