If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
I’m just completing the first draft of my latest novel and I will be revising it very soon. Some changes will be major. For example, I’m going to make my main character a few years younger and add a romantic relationship. When I write my first draft, I’m mostly concerned with getting the story down.
Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
I’ve always been a writer. In elementary school, I wrote plays—at least I started to write them. (I never finished any.) As an adult, I was a non-fiction writer, a newspaper reporter, and a freelance educational writer and editor. I’ve always loved writing, but I only became a novelist a few years ago.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
I think I tell a good story and write believable dialogue. I still need to work on my character description. Sometimes I’m a bit lazy and describe people by their hair color and age rather than in more interesting ways. I’m trying to define characters more fully: What makes the person special?
Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
I love Dean Koontz’s novels. He writes in the same genre as I do—supernatural thrillers. Koontz has a wonderful knack of creating real characters that the reader can emphasize with, something I’m still trying to do. And, of course, he tells a great story.
What was the hardest part of writing your book?
To me, the revising and editing processes are the most difficult. I’m able to write the basic story relatively easily, but it’s never perfect. Then I have to go back over the book many times, fill in the holes, make additions, corrections, and revisions. It’s a lengthy, complex job.
