Like many of us, I presume, I have wanted to write since I was a little girl. My first major influence was Taylor Caldwell. Later, I loved reading Jane Austen, Shakespeare, Ayn Rand, Poe. Later still, C.S. Lewis, Chaucer, Milton. I graduated with a Bachelor's in English and hoped to pursue a career in writing. Instead, I became a stay-at-home mom. Now that my children are older, I took up writing again in January 2012. My only motivation, really, is my passion for writing and my deep regard for the written word.