I started writing when I was nine. Before that, I had all these stories in my head and nowhere to put them! I finished my first book when I was twelve and had several dozen others in the process at that point. I also wrote poetry early on, which I still do off and on.

I write quickly and have multiple books I’m releasing this year, so I’ll tell you about one of the series, “History Interrupted,” I’m about to finish up! It’s a romantic time travel adventure, where the heroine is sent further back in time in each of the four episodes. I named each book after the general parts of the world where she ends up: West, East, North, and South. The fourth book will be released late this summer/early fall.

I’ve always been fascinated with history, and this was an opportunity to combine my love of writing fiction with my love of imagining what life was like during those time periods. We know a lot about history in terms of general events and major players, but we don’t know details of most of those worlds and the day-to-day lives of those people living within them. It’s fun to imagine!

I think like many indie authors, I grew frustrated with trying to break into the industry. I spent ten years being rejected or ignored by agents and publishers. When the technology came around to self-publish ebooks, I decided to go that route. It’s been an incredible journey, and I’ve learned a lot!

I think chaotic is probably the right word for my writing process. To me, it makes sense, but I don’t think it does to many other people. I call it intuitive writing. I have no idea where the stories come from and most of the times, no idea what’s going to come out when I sit down to write. I let the stories flow and the characters tell me who they are and what they’re doing. My other technique, if I can’t sit and write for whatever reason, is to develop the stories through televisions in my head. I always have stories on the back burner being developed passively while I actively work on one or a few in particular. Basically, I have enough stories to last multiple lifetimes! I also dream in stories, so it’s kind of a non-stop process.

I grew up all over the place. We moved around a lot until I was ten, when we ended up in Ohio. I was able to see a lot of different places and meet tons of different people by the time we moved to Ohio, and I think the different settings and people come out in my writing. One of my most popular series is set in my favorite place we ever lived, in northern Idaho, where we lived in a tiny town near the Canadian border. It was breathtaking and close to nature. Very few people, tons of trees and wildlife. I loved it. Still do!

Writing is compulsory. I have no control over my writing! I was born to tell stories, and I’ll continue doing it until my last day! When I get cranky about sales or marketing not working or whatever, I remind myself that this is a calling. There might only be one person who reads a book, but that book could change that person’s life. So I have to keep writing, because someone out there needs the story I’m working on.

Persevere. Stay optimistic. You’re the only one who can tell that story that way, and someone out there needs to read it, or you wouldn’t be compelled to write it!

I lost faith during the ten years I was trying to break into the traditional publishing industry, only to discover - when I self published - that there was an incredibly huge market of readers who devour and appreciate new, fresh, unique books and stories. Making it into traditional publishing (or not!) isn’t a measure of the quality of writing or story. In fact, I think traditional publishing would have to grow to about a hundred times its size in order to start publishing all the amazing books out there!

I write on the couch! It’s partially because desk chairs are horribly uncomfortable but mostly because my shih tzu can’t sit by me if I sit at a desk. I love my dogs, so my whole life tends to revolve around writing and my furrballs!

I read almost exclusively non-fiction. I love physics, science in general, nature, history, and books like that. The only time I read fiction is if I’m editing or reviewing (by request) someone else’s work.

The actual creation and writing! I love making up stories in my head and then putting them on paper. They always turn out a little different than I imagine, but that’s part of the fun.