When I was a little kid, I wanted to be Nancy Drew.  It didn't take long for me to realize how unlikely that was, so I decided to write mysteries instead.  I've worked extensively in third world countries and though my stories are placed firmly in the US, the characters tend to have an international flavor.  While overseas, I became interested in the superstitions and magical practices of the cultures I swam in, and these tend to make their way into my writing as well.