Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Although I am better known as the author of the Cassie and Chloe series of Children’s Adventure fantasy books, I recently had two cookbooks published which are geared towards adults.
I was born in the United States of America, but I have been fortunate to have been able to travel to quite a few countries and experience many wonderful sights, many of which I write about in my books.
I have lived on both the East and West coasts of the United States with my beloved canine “children”.I have a great love for film, television and stage productions, and enormous respect, admiration, and appreciation of actors and actresses.
I simply adore amusement parks, ghost stories, adventure activities, traveling, dogs,the paranormal, and of course, the theatre.
I have enjoyed white water rafting, surfing, para-sailing, mountain climbing,and sky-diving. I even studied piloting a single engine plane for awhile back in New York.
I enjoy conversations about my favorite films , books, movie stars and television series, as well as any travel destination I have had the pleasure of visiting. Oh, I also get a kick out of horror movies -especially the older ones, and psychological thrillers.
{So, if you ever meet me in person, these are sure fire conversation starters!}
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first vacation as a child was to a resort on the lovely island of Sanibel in Florida. Many real life events often inspire me to run with the basics, and then go wild embellishing bizarre but hopefully creative situations out of actual events. Dreams are also fascinating to me, and I often incorporate elements of my nocturnal dreams into my stories. My children’s book : “Cassie and Chloe’s Captiva Cutlass Criminal Caper ” makes full use of my affinity for dreams, and incorporates dreams right into the storyline via Carlita; the girls’ Mother.
I encourage you all to spend more time reading and discovering the many fascinating and incredible worlds inside the imaginations of my fellow dreamers.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I am hopelessly old-fashioned and I still enjoy the quaint ( some may perceive it as archaic) concept of writing my stories out longhand for the first draft. I am also a nocturnal writer. Most of the fiction I have created has been thought out, put to paper, and then transposed into the computer between the hours of Midnight and 7 AM.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have always loved mystery books. I have read all the older -but oh so wonderful -Agatha Christie, and Ellery Queen books, and {Australian goddess} Kerry Greenwood is a personal favorite. I do hope one day to achieve even a fraction of the poetry which Ms. Ann Rice so vividly paints with her words. Still, so many things influence me in addition to books and other authors. A crucial chapter in my first book actually came into being through a bizarre idea I flashed upon while watching the Alfred Hitchcock classic film”Strangers on a Train”. People have influenced me a great deal as well. The setting for “Cassie and Chloe’s Captivating Crystal Crawlspace Chronicles” actually evolved out of sad circumstances. A family member, and then a friend both experienced unthinkable tragedies, and in my mind to try and justify how such unbearable things could be allowed to happen, I had to reason upon the slightest justification of events, and out of that logic was born the locale of ‘Serendipity Springs’. I also once had a student, a little girl who clearly missed her sister enormously, and she was having difficulty dealing with her loss, and so, I thought my book might help other children like Kaitlyn, who were facing similar heartbreaking situations.
What are you working on now?
At present, I am actually immersed in composing two screenplays for grownup people. One is a suspense/mystery/horror type script , and the other is a romantic adventure – with FOOD playing a starring role.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have yet to find a perfect method. I have tried book fairs, advertising, press releases, giveaways, building websites, frequenting numerous assorted theme websites, and many other marketing type suggestions, but apart from resigning yourself to spending a lot of time doing these things, I couldn’t honestly say with 100 per cent certainty that one method works better than another.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up, and believe in yourself. So many people will try and discourage you -for their own personal reasons, or agendas. IF YOU K NOW YOUR STORY HAS WORTH, then don’t allow any one to take that away from you. Just keep trying until you have realized your dream!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Reach for the moon, because even if you miss, you will still land there up among the stars!
What are you reading now?
I like to read 2 or 3 books at a time. I enjoy reading the books by Heather Graham, and I had the pleasure of meeting her last June at the NY book fair. I just started her book about New Orleans tour guides which lead groups to go on “Ghostwalk” “s around that great city. I am also reading a non fiction book which teaches you how to read Egyptian hieroglyphics, and I am 177 pages into an adventure story written for young persons.
What’s next for you as a writer?
More Cassie and Chloe books, and {most likely} at least one additional cook book.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
“The Memoirs of Cleopatra” by Margaret George. I think it is fair to say that it is the single most extraordinary book I have ever read. At almost a thousand pages -it definitely leaves one feeling as though you have quite literally tagged along with the Great Queen of Egypt, as she lived her entire life. Ms.George must have channeled Cleopatra, or was in fact Cleopatra herself -reincarnated this century as a great writer. I would bring along one of the Phryne Fisher mysteries by Miss Greenwood – “Murder in the Dark” or “Ruddy Gore”. I would want “Dracula” by Bram Stoker. I love the atmospheric tone and the fascinating way he crafted the story through diary entries/ Finally I would have a tough time deciding on my fourth and final book – it would be a toss up between an Ellery Queen book or an Anne Rice book or a horror story like “The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer”by Ridley Pearson, or “The Haunting of Hill House” by Shirley Jackson. However, if I were less of a book lover, and more of a survivalist, I should hope someone pens an “ESCAPING FROM A DESERT ISLAND FOR DUMMIES” book – before I embark on my 3 hour Gilligan’s cruise.
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