Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up in the upstate of South Carolina not far from the Blue Ridge Mountain chain. I was the youngest of four and was a "surprise" to my parents, arriving six years after my older brother was born. Being the baby had its benefits. One, my brothers and sister adored me . . . and I milked it. And two, those same older siblings had a love for Jeep Wranglers which translated into weekend adventures, baby! So, many times we piled in those jeeps and took off to the mountains, exploring back roads and out of the way places. It was because of these adventures, and many others I have had over the years, that gave me the material for my first book Blackridge-Book One of the So'ladiun where I tried to incorporate certain sights and smells for my characters while on their journey through similar mountains.
Where did you get the idea behind your latest book?
Blackridge, Book One of the So'ladiun was the result of a short, but vivid dream I had one morning way back in 2007. It played out like a movie, and when it started I watched from afar as a spectator. There was a magician who was fighting against something beside a river. (I couldn't see who or what he was fighting.) Then something went wrong and he fell injured to the ground. At that point, I became him and I could feel him dying. This is why it was so vivid. I have never had a dream like that before, and believe me, I have had some truly strange dreams, including one this morning, but I'm getting sidetracked. So he/me is lying on a sandbar dying. Two teenagers drop beside him/me, concerned. The magician/I can see a pendant dangling on a nearby limb, sparkling in the sun, and it was important for the teens to retrieve it. When he/me finally gets them to understand what he wanted with nothing but definitive eye movements and sees the pendant is safe, he lets himself go . . . and I felt him die. At that point I awoke, glad I didn't go with him. I lay in bed wishing the dream had continued and I knew more about the characters. It was then that I decided to write the story. So, now I know the first two parts (having written two books already--the second will be published soon). The rest is still unfolding.
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