Usually the dog barking! Or coffee brewing! Okay, I guess those aren't really inspiring, are they? I guess it's mainly just the fact that every day is new and fresh, and no matter how bad or unproductive the day before might have been, today is always there for starting over.

Ah, too many to list! Neil Gaiman, of course, because he works so often with mythologies and that is a subject I love. Katherine Kurtz, because her Deryni books got me hooked on high fantasy. Terry Brooks and his Shannara stories are also high on the list, as are his Landover novels. Robert A. Heinlein got me into science fiction at an early age- probably too early to be reading some of his stuff, but, well, too late now! Chuck Wendig, John Scalzi, and many, many others!

I read what interests me. Mostly fantasy and science fiction, but I also like a good cozy mystery, and humor, and the occasional biography.

I am currently working on several things. I have a space opera novel, "Two's Company," going through revisions. I am working on a murder mystery humorous fantasy set in an alternate world of elves, wizards and witches, gnomes, fairies, and other such folk. And I have an urban fantasy (also with some humor) about a demon-possessed thrift store that is due to be published soon-ish. We are working on the cover design for that one.

Reading. Playing with and training my dog, a pit mix named Lambeau. Baking. We spend a lot of summer weekends running the judging areas at competition chili cook offs. Watching TV in the evening to wind down and relax. I also love spending time with our grandchildren whenever I can.

I've written for myself for a long, long time. I wrote for school papers, and the like. I cut my writing teeth with fan fiction, like many. I still commit the occasional fanfic, just to satisfy my own head cannon for my favorite fannish things! I only got really serious about publishing a few years ago. Things have changed so much in the publishing world, and independent publishing opportunities like Smashwords are truly wonderful for writers like me.

Not really. I'm sure it was pretty bad, though. Well, maybe not for a school age kid, but now, I am sure I would be tempted to burn it! I do remember some of the things I wrote in high school- typical teenage stuff- angsty, over-emotional, and quite bad!

Usually, I get an idea and I will write up a short description of that basic thing. It is often no more than a paragraph or two. Then it sits for a while so my unconscious brain can work on the plot for a bit. Usually because I have other things to finish before adding a new project to the pile. I am a planner. I don't do a strict outline, but I need to have a good idea of the main story and a decent handle on the characters before I can write the story itself. I have a workbook outline that I use for longer stories that helps me keep the plot, characters, and things like chapters and plot movement organized. I write a first draft (my favorite part of writing, btw) which is usually just the main story with very little detail or side plots. After that, I set it aside for a bit to get some distance before starting revisions (my least favorite part).

It's a corner desk set so one arm looks out into my office room. The arm along the wall has two monitors on it. I like using two monitors when I write. I can have my writing space on one, and either the outline or research or other helpful things on the other. The non-monitor arm has my calendar pages taped to it. A full year calendar with significant dates circled, and a month calendar page with more details. There's a file holder with the files of the things I am working on. Usually whatever I am working on that day is spread on that surface, too. Pen and pencil holder. Desk light. The usual.

A lot of them are recommended by other writers, either in writing groups online, or blog posts, or tweets. I follow many of my favorite authors so I know when they have books coming out, and they will often recommend others, as well. I also get newsletters from publishers of my favorite genres.

I have a Kindle