Plugging Some Books, last part

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

In 2002 a teacher friend of mine was challenging his English students to write a novel during the school year. I decided to give it a try myself on summer break. I was amazed at how much fun it was. The characters took over the work and my first novel, a chapter book for middle grade kids titled The Secret in the Hidden Cave, practically wrote itself.

Did your childhood experiences influence your writing?

Absolutely – how could they not? There are always pieces of those experiences in my novels, though through the filters of time and understanding some of those events get more exciting. In A Soul’s Kiss , The Guardian's Diary, and Sheltered there are vestiges of several teenage events that involved boys and butterflies in my stomach.

Which writers have influenced you the most?

I wish I could name two or three, but seriously every single author I’ve ever read has had some kind of impact on me. My favorites are John Grisham, Clive Cussler, Michael Connelly, Janet Evanovich, Stephenie Meyer, Michael Crichton, Dean Koontz, and Brad Meltzer, to name just a few – very eclectic mix, I know.

What can we look forward to from you in the future?

I’m currently working on a young adult novel set at the end of this century with some anachronistic twists and a love triangle.