I like to read a little of everything. I love romance and have lots of favorites, but I also love women's fiction, literary novels, mysteries, thrillers, carefully-curated Young Adult, memoirs, biographies, some non-fiction and historical novels. Did I mention that I love everything? I am also very curious and want to know ALL THE THINGS.

The first story I ever wrote was captured in a journal I kept when I was 12. It was a very awkward, G-rated teen romance whose heroine looked a lot like me. It embarrassed me to read, so no one else ever saw it. It would be another 25 years before I showed any fiction I wrote to another person!

My writing process is far too lengthy and messy. I start with a character who catches my interest, usually because she is in a predicament. Then I marinate on that for days/months/years until I figure out what I want to use that predicament to say to readers. Sometimes the story flows easily, but often I get about 1/3 of the way through, decide it's not working and rewrite the whole thing. It's slow and maddening. I wish I had a better way, but having written 6 novels, half of another 12 novels and 4 novellas, I promise I haven't found a faster way. I've tried all the tricks!

I grew up in Nashville, TN, in a very working class neighborhood. East Nashville is hilly, with windy streets that make no sense and are really hard to bike up and down. There were musicians and great music everywhere, but we didn't frequent the tourist places. It felt rather small town for a city, at least our part of it. I'm still friends with lots of people I grew up with and the mid-South was quite different from the Southeast, where I live now. But I am and always will be Southern, with all that entails. I write stories about Southern characters that are set in the South. It's what I know and love.

I love my readers! I am a character-driven writer, so I am fascinated by people. I love to meet and get to know a variety of people, because they are SO INTERESTING. The best part is, most people (like me) believe they are not at all interesting, but they are all unique and amazing. I love to hear from readers and encourage everyone to contact me. I just wish I could meet them all in person!