I can't remember a time when I wasn't writing stories.  It probably drove my mother insane, as there were always pieces of paper scattered around, and I constantly stole all her pens. I should probably admit, I didn't read the classics that seem to be on everyone's favorites list, or at least not many of them.  I read the first book of Anne of Green Gables and cried so hard I couldn't read any others in the series.  For some reason, it seems like the books most recommended for kids involved someone dying, which was why it sucked having to read Where the Red Fern Grows out load in school.  Ever try reading to your classmates when you're sniffing and sobbing and can't see the words through tears?  Yeah, not fun, and man did I get made fun of for it.  I tried to stick to lighter things, which is why I started reading my mother's Harlequin Romance novels by the time I was in third grade. It wasn't until I reached high school that I fell in love with fantasy.  I was already a big sci-fi fan, (we went through so many copies of Star Wars in our house it wasn't funny) but one of my friends introduced me to Jennifer Roberson's books, and then I found Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series and was completely hooked. I write in a variety of genres, but lately, it seems most of my ideas center around camping, or life in small town Ontario, further north where there are so many lakes and rivers you can spend all your life paddling them and never see them all.  I think the outdoors is a great place to meet that someone special and fall in love.