THE FANTASTIC BLOG HOP SUMMER SPLASH

As some of you may know, a few of my author friends started something a few months ago that is known as the Fantastic Blog Hop. The first of them was five days of posts and fun. The second turned into a nine day event and this one they decided to do something different. ---- A two day Facebook event and I was lucky to be asked to participate. We are going to play games, chat with readers, give away prizes. One of the games will be author trivia. The answers to our questions will come from our blogs. So if you will take a moment and read my short answers, you will be ready for my trivia. The event starts tonight and goes through tomorrow evening August 15th. So please join us. http://www.facebook.com/events/497812409321189/?source=1

When did you begin to imagine new worlds and people them with characters?

My imaginary world has always been rich. As a small child I remember pretending I lived in ancient Egypt, traveled down the Nile, lived as a Native American in Southwestern United States, and of course I traveled to the stars.

Who is Dinky? 

Dinky is my youngest horse, we adopted him from a rescue when he was four months old. He is a nurse mare foal. I wrote two books from his point of view. The first is a novel 

Dinky: The Nurse Mare's Foal

 

and the second is adapted from the beginning of the book for ages 3 to 8, called 

Dinky's Quest: The Journey Begins.

 

Do you prefer it quiet or do you like to listen to music when you write? 

I usually like it quiet, for I listen to the sound of my characters, but when writing The Between Times, a story of what our world might become, but again it has a bit of magic woven into it and a prophecy.

 

I listened to Troika, a new age CD and when I wrote The Choosing I listened to the sounds of flutes and drums from a Native American CD.

The Choosing is the story of pre-European America and is interwoven with Celtic and different Native American beliefs.

What was the first book you wrote and published?

My grandmother wrote a few short poems in the 1930's for her children, I found them when my mother was dying and found them charming. I decided to lengthen most of the poems and add some of my own and Wee Three: A Mother's Love in Verse was born. It is the first of two children's poetry books I have written.

It is illustrated by the talented Hazel Mitchell.

How many books have you written?

To date I have published 2 children's poetry, 3 adult poetry, my novella's The Choosing and The Between Times, Dinky: The Nurse Mare's Foal, and its companion, Dinky's Quest: The Journey Begins, and a slew of short stories. I have approximately 30 partially finished novels and stories.

Where do your ideas come from?

I call it the primordial soup, for they seem to come from nowhere. It seems as if they swirl around in my head until something I see, hear, or read will open the door and the characters will tell me their stories as I type.

Do you have any advice for other writers?

Read, read, read, and write, write, write, and get a good editor.