I’m a computer tech by training and writer by passion. And when I am not dreaming up my next book you can see me, or at least my backside under a computer desk.

Describe yourself in five words:

Impulsive, ambitious, funny, smart, daydreamer

What fact about yourself would really surprise people?

I once had to work as a dishwasher in a French restaurant so I’d have enough money to get home.

How do you work through self-doubts and fear?

I talk to myself and ask this one question “What is the worst that can happen?” I face the worst try to avoid or prepare for it and move on.

What scares you the most?

Inaction, I am no good at sitting still! I always feel like I am wasting time or opportunity. I have to make myself relax. It sounds like a virtue but it isn’t. You drive yourself nuts trying to ‘finish’ everything.

What makes you happiest?

Those days when several books have been sold all at once. I get all giggly and skip around all day.

Why do you write?

I write for many reasons: Took get out doubts or fears, work through my own problems. But most times I feel a kind of pressure at the back of my mind to create. I can’t draw, paint sculpt, but I can write.

Have you always enjoyed writing?

When I was a kid I couldn’t write to save my life. But as I got older I started to put ideas down on paper. Writing is like exercise the more you do it the better you get and the more you find yourself needing to do it to feel complete.

What motivates you to write?

A story will pop into my head, or I feel the need to sit down and bang out some words. I see something on the news that makes me so mad I just have to write my own ending to it.

What writing are you most proud of?

For me it’s paragraphs or descriptions or characters that please me. Sometimes the whole story just falls together, no fighting, no cul-de-sacs just a story that plays out.

What are you most proud of in your personal life?

I am living my dream to become a writer. I know that sounds trite, after all it’s what I am suppose to say right? But I have discovered I love telling stories to people. So when I have a new book out, or I get a good review, it makes the jobs I do to pay rent with worth it.

What books did you love growing up?

Dune by Frank Herbert, S is for Space Ray Bradbury, Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks. Anything by James Blish and Alan dean Foster. Tony Hillerman’s series are fantastic. My favorites are Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler.

What do you hope your obituary will say about you?

 Good Writer.

Location and life experiences can really influence writing, tell us where you grew up and where you now?

I am a native of Denver Colorado and I adore the American West. I’ve lived many places around the world but I always end up here.

How did you develop your writing?

I sat down one day and started to write. I have kept writing ever since. There is no short cut, no tricks, no special lessons or plans to being a writer. You just write. That and facing up to when you haven’t written very well, concede the point and learn from it.

What is hardest – getting published, writing or marketing?

Marketing for me. I hate being in the public eye, my books fine not me.

What marketing works for you?

Consistency and variety. Hit in as many ways as you can Pinterest, FB, Instagram, Tik Tok, book reviews, Amazon, I hit everything.

Do you find it hard to share your work?

Naw, when I started to publish I made up my mind that it is a business and that I am selling my wares. I sound like a prostitute I know but hey if you’re writing solely for self enjoyment skip the hassles of publishing, marketing, worrying and downer days when nothing sells.

Is your family supportive? Do your friends support you?

Not really, they think I’m nuts. But they’d think I’m nuts whether I wrote or not. I am that family member nobody talks about because I don’t fit in. I like it that way.

What else do you do, other than write?

I climb, hike, tour, travel, and read all the time. All of these activities help me write better.

What other jobs have you had in your life?

 Let’s see: Dishwasher, Janitor, Salesperson (I really sucked at that), house cleaner, store clerk. A few others that were so short in duration they don’t matter. You know anything to keep room and board together.

If you could study any subject at university what would you pick?

History without question.

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?

I am living there. I have itchy feet so I like to travel and I have seen many places. I like it here.

How do you write – lap top, pen, paper, in bed, at a desk?

I have an old desktop computer running XP Pro that I keep going.  It’s easy for me you see.

How much sleep do you need to be your best?

About six hours.

Is there anyone you’d like to acknowledge and thank for their support?

My BFF Lea who made so much of this possible.

Every writer has their own idea of what a successful career in writing is, what does success in writing look like to you?

Being able to pay the bills with my sales. Who knows maybe someday I can do that.

It is vital to get exposure and target the right readers for your writing, tell us about your marketing campaign?

Simple tell everybody you can. You’ll find your audience. Too often I think writers are fooled into thinking there is some magical formula, the right niche marketing scheme or plan etc. That’s all BS, just hire good people to sell your wears everywhere. Think about it: Coke A Cola advertises in health food stores. Why? Someone in there wants a coke, promise.

Tell us about your new book? Why did you write it?

Heels is a satire on myself. It tells the tale of a director of adult films who’s burned out and needs a new life path. I’m by no means burned out but there are absurdities to what I do that I just wanted everyone else to laugh at.

If you could have a dinner party and invite anyone dead or alive, who would you ask?

Everyone. I’ve never met another human being who didn’t have an interesting story to tell, about themselves, their past even their present. All you have to do is ask, and you get wonderful stories of triumph and failure. Some are famous many unsung. All are fascinating.

When you are not writing, how do you like to relax?

Better refer a little further up the page to: What scares you most! LOLOLOL

What do you hope people will take away from your writing? How will your words make them feel?

Like they got off a great rollercoaster, trepidation as you climb the hill to the crises, fear for the hero as they are slammed down the tracks helpless to stop their doom, excitement as the story unfolds  and, in each twist, and turn, finally relief when it all turns out for the best. That is the essence of   good writing.

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