Oddly enough, my first attempt at writing was my senior year of high school. We were reading about Lancelot and Guinevere and our teacher assigned all of us to write our own love stories. And since, at the time, I was obsessed with getting my hand on as many romance novels as possible, I jumped right in. As for how I got started writing what has now been published, it was honestly on a whim. After years of not reading, I bought an iPad and found the same passion for romance novels again, only this time story ideas of my own began poking at me. So one night I grabbed my laptop and started typing, and the rest, they say, is history.

When I began reading again in 2012, I found myself being drawn into these stories that felt real, like the characters could have been my neighbor or my sister. And more often than not, those stories were written by indie authors. So after I started writing, I did a little research and noticed that most of the indie authors I liked were using Smashwords, which prompted me to do the same.

The greatest joy I get from writing is when the story takes on a life of its own. I'm not one to start with an outline, but I do start with a plot in my head. And more often than not, that plot lasts about one chapter before the characters decide they don't care about my ideas. That's what I love, sitting back and letting ficticious people dictate how they feel their lives should be portrayed.

I would say the one author, and series, that inspired me the most was Bella Andre and her Sullivan Series. Every time I read one of her titles they draw me in and make me feel...something. She writes in such a way that you are rooting for her characters the whole time, whether they are being ridiculous or getting everything wonderful they deserve, I always feel like I can see them and am feeling what they are feeling. It's what made me want to create my own crazy, awesome family, the Cranston's.

When I was a Sophomore in high school I injured my knee skiing, which required me to be in the library during P.E. So one day I picked up this book that changed my life. It was called "A Child Called It", and it was the true story about a boy who was abused by his mother growing up, documenting every torrid and twisted thing she put this poor innocent child through. Growing up, I too suffered abuse, so I found my heart breaking and even feeling sick at times because at the time I thought I was the only one, and reading what he went through, made me realize what I lived with was nothing in comparison.

Hands down, my all time favorite book boyfriend is Tom Geiger from "Ride With Me" by Ruthie Knox. He is strong, sexy, bullheaded, and brutish. All of my favorite male characters rolled into one. I've read that book countless times just to meet him all over again.

I know people say variety is the spice of life, but other than two or three non-romance titles, this girl is all about the romance. I'm not sure what it is about a good love story that envelopes me so much. Maybe it's my own grandparents love story that started when they were 13 and end shortly after their 49th wedding anniversary, but I'll take heartache and will they/won't they every day of the week over anything else.

The simple answer, Me. The longer answer, my silly brain. When I first started writing it was because I had all these story ideas that wouldn't let me go to sleep. And once I published that didn't change, I still sleep with a notebook beside my bed to write down everything that pops into my head when I should really be resting up to be a mommy of three the next day. Only now, it isn't just a matter of writing. Now I have every bad review or criticism or plea for the next book bouncing around in my head, causing anxiety with every word typed because I'm trying to make sure it will please everyone else, instead of doing what I did in the beginning and just write. I hope to get back to that one day soon.

I grew up in Central Illinois, in a small town surrounded by corn fields and pick up trucks. Growing up in such a rural environment I think gave me the tools and life experiences to appreciate the little things in life, and when I write, even though most of the time my characters are in big cities, I feel like that small town feel is in each of them.

Currently, I'm working on the second book in my new Cranston Series, which follows a group of six siblings all looking for their place in this world, with a little help from their grandfather that passed away and his spit fire wife, the wonderful Gigi. The sibling on the love chopping block this time is Brody Cranston, international rock star and charmer. He thinks he's immune to the love bug that has bitten a few of his siblings, but when L.A's hottest new baker, Trinity Marrow, crosses his path, his reasons for being alone start to make less and less sense.

DON'T READ REVIEWS. It's that simple. Write what you want to write, how you want to write, and let those who love your work be enough. Don't try to please everyone because if you do you will be struck by mind numbing writers block that can go on for years.