Q: When did you become interested in writing?
A: I've always been interested in writing, and I do remember when I was in school I always enjoyed the creative writing assignments more than the analytical ones. I remember one particular assignment where we were to write our own epitaph, and I wrote this tragic piece about dying from eating the cafeteria food.
Q: What are your favorite genres, as far as your own work?
A: I prefer non-fiction, poetry, and children's books, and that's where you'll find most of my work. However, I would never say I wouldn't write something. I mostly write what comes to me at the time.
Q: Who are your favorite writers?
A: Jane Austen, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Mark Twain, Carl Sandburg, William Shakespeare, Rudyard Kipling--just off the top of my head. If I had to name a current writer, I'd have to say J.K. Rowling.
Q: What you do hope to accomplish with your poetry?
A: My purpose is to write what I would like to read (and I read it a lot because I have to edit it). I would also like to make poetry more accessible to those who, for whatever reason, decided not to read it after they left school. I want the reader to laugh or cry. I enjoy hearing from people after they've read "The Mansfield Lighthouse Cats," because they come up to me and tell me the poems they like, and sometimes the same titles come up and sometimes they had a new favorite.
Q: Where did you get the idea for Stella Ducktropolis?
A: It began with a dream I had. In the original dream, the duck was a male, and when he would get enraged, he would become gigantic (especially his feet). I remember thinking of the line, "Stomping out crime, one foot at a time!" As time went on, I changed the gender of the main character and the storyline. The great thing about Stella Ducktropolis is that her "powers," if you want to call them that, come from her own intelligence, wit, and ingenuity, and not from some external event. I wanted to make Stella a character almost like a movie or comic hero with a day job, an alternate identity, complete with a backstory. I think it is an ambitious undertaking for a children's picture book. I'm actually hoping that adults like it as much as the kids.
Q: Will there be any sequels to Stella?
A: It depends on the popularity of the book, and if I have any other ideas that warrant it. I wouldn't do one just to do it.
Q: How do you stay motivated?
A: I always have goals that I focus on each day. I read motivational material, and listen to motivational CD's during the day.
Q: Do you have a day job, or can you write all day?
A: I have a day job.
Q: Do you have any hobbies?
A: I like to read, watch movies, watch college football, or take a nap.
Q: You say you graduated from Florida State. What degree did you obtain?
Q: B.S. in English Education.
Q: You don't have any pictures on your site. Why is that?
A: It's because I don't like to have my picture taken. I'm also technologically inept.
Q: I love your "FABULOUS" pin! You wear it often. What's the story behind it?
A: It's sparkly--that's the first thing! As one of my poems in "The Mansfield Lighthouse Cats," says, "I'm a sparkly girl." Also, I think "fabulous" kind of embodies the positive attitude that I try to maintain and perpetuate as I go through my day. "Fabulous" is also the favorite word of my children's book character, Stella Ducktropolis.