I started writing in third grade, a Halloween short story, and after several years of bad poetry and some more spooky stuff, I found romance. I was the girl in high school who passed around my books so other students could read “the good parts.” But while I was reading romance, I was watching anything with a paranormal or sci-fi twist. Mostly reruns of The Twilight Zone, Star Trek, and even My Favorite Martian, but there were some new shows, too, like The Man From Atlantis. And some great movies surfaced; the Planet of the Apes, Logan’s Run, Westworld, the original Rollerball, and the television miniseries V. All of these influenced my writing. Dad & I had great times watching the sci-fi shows, dissecting the characters, the plots, and technologies. I don’t know how many times we discussed things like Einstein’s theories, the possibility of cold fusion, or any other scientific hot topic over a cup of coffee at the kitchen table. When I started writing in earnest, Dad was my sounding board. The discussions always started with “How can I…” and really never ended. We’d always come up with something more to add with every conversation. He passed away in August, 2007 from cancer. I miss him every day.