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Books are my life. If I'm not reading, I'm writing, and vice versa. From the time I could hold a pencil I was creating stories. Even before I could "write" I would draw sequenced pictures and create stories. When I would play Barbies, I wouldn't play the typical Barbie and Ken scenario. Instead, I would take my dolls and have them act out elaborate story ideas I had created.
I've always had an overly powerful imagination and vividly detailed dreams. Many of these dreams have inspired several of my story ideas. Sometimes I envision isolated ideas--fragments of a greater picture that I, as a reader, would love to see in a book. I collect these ideas, record them in a file I call "notes" and from there, I decide which work to use them in, how to use them, etc. Some ideas take longer than others. There have been times when I start writing a book and stop for months or even years and then resume at a later date. The works that have taken the longest aren still in the works. The shortest duration for a work I've done has been two weeks. No two situations are alike and vary depending on motivation, inspiration, plot, detail, etc.
Because many of my works are historical fiction pieces, I am prone to extensive research. I strive for accuracy in my plots even down to the day of the week a certain date occured on.
I especially love historical pieces. Many of of favorite novels take place in the 1800s and early 1900s. That's why most of my pieces do not exceed the 1930s (at the latest). My favorite authors include: Lucy Maud Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott, Lori Wick, Lauraine Snelling, Maud Hart Lovelace, Bonnie Leon, etc. I have many other favorites, but the storylines of the above ladies especially inspire me.
I write a variety of genres. My three published novels are all geared towards mysterious/thriller plots, but I have several other plots as different from night and day. All my stories, however, have a repeating message about non-conformity suffered by a major character or characters.
Many characters in my stories are based on actual people I know...to a certain extent. When I write stories, I think of it as a movie I'm watching and the people in my life playing various roles. Therefore, a character based on someone I know is not necessarily like the person in real life, but more or less, this is the person I envision playing the role. However, sometimes personalities due inspire certain characters, I I usually mix and match dispositions. Sometimes I'll take two people and combine them into one character or take one person and divide them into three. It varies from one story to another.
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