FAQ

These are the questions I'm most often asked.

When did your writing career begin?

I started writing seriously in 1995. I sold lots of magazine articles, stories and poems. That's when my "writing" career began. My career as a book author came a little later and has been more enlightening.

What inspires you to write?

I’m usually not inspired as much as driven to write. It’s something I feel compelled to do.

What part of the writing process is the hardest for you?

Accepting that what I do is a business. I can’t believe someone would actually pay me to do something I love so much! I keep expecting the police to ramrod my door any day and arrest me for taking advantage of my publisher.

What do you think makes a writer successful?

Knowing it’s never easy. Putting their work and sweat and love into a book, and realizing that once that’s done, the process starts all over again.

What advice would you offer to other aspiring writers.

Read! Read! Read! Both how-to books and the genre in which you wish to write. I once heard that you have to read 1000 books before you can write just one. That’s so true. My biggest lesson came when I took one of my favorite books, When Zachary Beaver Came To Town by Kimberly Willis Holt, and dissected it. I made note of when she used description within dialogue. What strong verbs she used. How she painted a scene so we could visualize it. This was when I began to see my own writing weaknesses. I don’t think a million how-to books could have taught me that.