Besides your historical fiction, you also have a poetry publication, from where do you find your inspiration?
95% of my poetry is spiritual based. Each poem has a different meaning to me. A recovering alcoholic. A person battling depression. A family who lost their grandmother. A Mom and Dad, a husband and children, a brother and a sister, who lost their daughter in a car accident. Learning to slow life down and remember the One who created us. Love. Growing closer to God. A mixture of beauty and destruction that makes up this life is inspiration, in and of itself.
You’ve just released (Dec. 2013) your first children’s book, was it easier to write for a different audience?
When I started writing, I never saw myself as a children’s book author. On Top of the Rainbow is a story that rolled off the tip of my fingers in a matter of two hours or less. I put it to my critique group and they enjoyed it too. I did have to make some changes in the way I spoke – using simpler terms and words than what I am used to. The illustrations were wonderfully done by a hired artist. This story has two underlying meanings: (1) that running away is never the solution to a problem and (2) family love. Recently, with my children’s book, I received praise from a seven year old, a six year old and a four year old. Now, that made my day because children can be very blunt in their opinions!