Q: In one sentence, tell me something that describes you as a person?
A: I’m a strange, goofy, introvert who loves her family and close friends fiercely.
Q: How many books have you written? How many of those are published?
A: I’ve written eight books, but only seven are published.
Q: Do you have an upcoming release? If yes, tell me the title and impending release date.
A: I just released my newest book in October and don’t have a release date for the next other than early summer of next year at the earliest.
Q: Tell me about how you come up with your titles for your stories. Do you create the title before or after you write the book, and does it ever change from the initial title?
A: I usually have a working title of some sort from the beginning. It seems to help to have something to call what I’m working on. The actual title usually requires more thought and work to come up with. And yes, there are times when I think I have the title all ironed out, and then start to feel it still isn’t right and end up eventually changing it.
Q: Out of all your characters in all of your books, who/what (sometimes a setting can also be an important “character”)do you think is the most interesting and why?
A: Probably Morgan, from my book Bound by Legend. She’s emotionally broken, starts out the book homeless, and has to really work through things to let herself love and be loved.
Q: Without quoting your back cover synopsis, tell me about the last book you published.
A: The last book I published was the second in my Raven Daughter series. Jo (don’t call her Josephine, she hates that) is a reaper who spent the first book learning that for everything she’s been told, there is a lot she hasn’t been. In this book, she’s discovering even more about herself, her power, her heritage, and what it means to be her.
Q: Tell me something about yourself that is separate from writing.
A: I love to play MMORPGs. Specifically, I’m focused on Star Wars the Old Republic right now.
Q: Who is your favorite Author?
A: Uh… I have to choose just one? Mary Stanton, because she’s the one who truly began my love of reading and my desire to write.
Q: What is the last book that you read? (Not counting anything you wrote)
A: The Forbidden Heir by M.J. Scott
Q: When writing, do you have a system or something you plan, or do you just write?
A: I just write. I don’t do a lot of planning because every time I do, my characters laugh and run off in an entirely different direction. Honestly, it’s like herding cats.
Q: Why do you write?
A: Because I love exploring the worlds and stories that form in my head. I love discovering the characters and what motivates them.
Q: Do you read your own work a lot? If so, what does it do for you?
A: For pleasure? Rarely. But when it comes to revisions, yes. Over and over and over and over. And somehow, a few typos still manage to sneak past. They little trolls even manage to sneak past my editor and my proofreaders.
Q: What is your favorite type of music? Is there one genre (or song, band etc...) that brings out your creativeness more than others?
A: I’m an eclectic music listener, so my favorite kind of music changes with my moods or with whatever I’m writing. I get inspired by everything from classical to hard rock. I can say that rap and death metal don’t usually do much for me.
Q: As an author, I find that the hardest thing to write (for me) is the synopsis that will be on the back cover or book’s description. When you write, what is the hardest line to write, the first line, the last line or the synopsis for the book?
A: The synopsis. As an author of novels, I’m generally long winded. So trying to reduce a 90,000 to 140,000 word novel down to a description that is 200 words or less is torture.
Q: If you could sit down and have a coffee (or whatever beverage) with anyone, living or dead, from any era, any time, who would it be and why? (You can pick up to 3 persons).
A: My grandmother on my father’s side who passed when I was 16. Robert Jordan who had the nerve to pass before I got a chance to meet him. And Michelle Obama.
Q: What does it mean to be a “successful” writer?
A: Every time I complete a book, it’s a success. Publishing it and finding readers is icing on the cake.
Q: What do you want to accomplish, so when you look back at your life, you can say “I did that”?
A: Scuba diving. I would love to dive the Great Barrier Reef.
Q: Any final thoughts that you want to give to your fans or even future authors?
A: Buy my books! Okay, that was just for laughs. Seriously, for my fans, thank you for both reading my books and for your patience since I’m not the fastest writer. For future writers, don’t give up. Keep putting one word in front of the other.