Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up in a small, Southern town; at times I loved it, and other times, I wanted to escape. I didn't think it would influence my writing at all, but over time, I'd say that I can tell that my upbringing has enabled me to write close-knit families and a realistic Southern setting. I hope it's also made me able to write about love—because love of all kinds is really prevalent in small, familiar towns.
When did you first start writing?
I think I was 12 the first time I began trying to write. Back then, they were short scribblings, but over the next few years I began to write "novels" - looking back, I'd say those were more like novelettes that I thought were these really epic novels. I found a love of reading and writing by my teen years, and neither of those have ever changed.
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