I was born in Texas, raised in California, and educated in Washington State. I now live in Oregon, in the shade of the Cascade and Siskiyou Mountains, with my husband and two cats. As for influences, too many to list. Among writers, Ursula Le Guin, Sigrid Undset, JRR Tolkien. In general, Richard Wagner, Gustave Mahler, Norse sagas, and my mother.  I was raised in a home full of books and music and conversation. I never 'wanted to be a writer'; I always was one. Why do I write science fiction?  We must write the stories we get (from the Muse or whatever). The stories I get happen to be sci-fi, so there you are.