Smashwords is entirely responsible for my success. When I gave up on the traditional publisher route in 2010, after numerous rejections, I was convinced my dream of publishing my books was doomed. Then I read a blog interview with a successful Smashwords author and decided that the indie route might be worth a try. My books had been gathering dust on my hard drive for about 20 years at that stage. I felt I had nothing to lose. It was the indie route or nothing. The success of my books via Smashwords stunned me. I was over the moon and pinching myself daily. It seemed too good to be true. The fabulous reviews the books got blew me away. It totally changed my life. After a few months, I was able to give up my day job and dedicate myself to writing full time, which is what I'd always wanted to do. Thank you Mark and Smashwords, you made all my dreams come true!

Exploring fantastic worlds and meeting the amazing characters who populate them. I love all my heroes and heroines, so following their stories and sharing in their trials and tribulations is a wonderful adventure. As a 'channeller', writing is as effortless for me as reading. The stories just appear in my mind as I write, fully formed, and all I have to do is chronicle them for the future. I started writing stories in school, just for fun, and so that I could read them again. That continued until I wrote my first series - Slave Empire - when I was in my mid-twenties. When I'm writing, I'm transported into the other world, and this world becomes inconsequential, so it's the greatest form of escapism for me.

My fans are incredibly important to me. They helped to make my dreams come true, and their enjoyment of the books lifts my spirits and makes me smile. Whenever I'm feeling a bit down in the dumps, all I have to do is read their wonderful reviews and all my troubles melt away. It's my greatest joy, after writing, and I'm forever grateful to each and every one who made positive comments or wrote glowing reviews that contributed so much to the books' success. They inspire me to write more, because I want to give back some of the joy they've given me. When they tell me they've read a series over 30 times and they're reading the books again and still enjoying them, I'm gobsmacked!

I plan to continue the Demon Lord series, since I have that channel, so Book IX is next on my 'to do' list. In fact, I've already started it, but must put it on hold for a little bit while I do the promotions for Book VIII - When Angels Fall.

Stephen R. Donaldson, J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series totally immersed me in his world, Tolkien's amazing flare for creating all aspects of a fantasy world - even his own language - blew me away, and C. S. Lewis is responsible for introducing me to fantasy as a child with his Narnia series.

On days when all I have to do is write, the prospect of escaping into one of my fantasy or sci-fi worlds makes getting out of bed a real pleasure. Writing also keeps me up late at night, but I don't feel tired until I stop.

I spend a lot of time creating covers for my books, and, of course, editing. That's a full time job that never ends, but it's a pleasure, so it's my second favourite thing to do after writing. I find I get caught up in the stories, though, and forget to edit! Other than that, I ride my superbike, watch a bit of TV and create digital art on my PC. Sometimes I play computer games.

Only parts of it. I wrote it in school when I was about 13 years old. It was about horses. I love horses, and I loved the Silver Brumby books back then. So it was along those lines, inspired by those books. I wrote it longhand in notebooks, and I still have them somewhere.

I start a book with a scene that pops into my head. When I write it, the next part of the story 'downloads' into my mind, and I follow it. I don't know what's going to happen in the next paragraph, never mind the next chapter, until I write it. The things my characters do and the twists and turns in the plots are all surprises to me. I can't change what happens. If I try, my mind goes blank, and I have to go back to the place where I left the 'channel' and follow it again. I sometimes write about things that seem unimportant and wonder what purpose they serve, only to find out several chapters, or even books, later that they are actually vital to the story. It's effortless, as long as I have a channel. When I don't have a channel, it's extremely frustrating, but that happens rarely, and usually only when real life interferes and I can't 'hook in'. Once I have a channel, I'll write non-stop for hours, only pausing for coffee-making and potty breaks. My longest stint was 14 hours.

It was Charlotte's Web, and it instilled a deep compassion for animals in me. To this day, I'm an animal lover, and I wish I could do more to help the poor creatures that suffer so much at the hands of mankind. I have rescued several, and had many beloved pets. I'm sure I would have loved animals anyway, but Charlotte's Web somehow inspired an empathy in me, or deepened it, perhaps. I'll never forget that book.

I try to draw a scene from the book, primarily, or, failing that, the hero or heroine. Since I'm a perfectionist, drawing a perfect image of the characters I see so clearly in my mind is hard to do! I can spend days and sometimes even weeks trying to perfect a cover art, and failing. Then, the process becomes extremely frustrating! I can't give up, though, even if I want to, as the books all need covers. Once I have an image I'm reasonably happy with, I choose a font and experiment with colours until I find a combination that 'pops' nicely so the title is legible even on a thumbnail. That must be taken into consideration during the image creation, too. Fortunately, one of my previous careers was as a commercial artist, and I was born with a natural talent for art - my mum and dad were both artists, and so are my brother and sister. It runs in the family. Digital art, however, is a whole new ballgame, and something I've only recently tried. Learning how to use the software is part of the challenge.