I primarily write fantasy stories, usually with an emphasis on Fairy Tale retellings. I love taking the classic stories that I grew up with, the Grimm and the Andersen and the Disney, and giving them a bit “more.” For many people, fairy tales were the first things that we read or were read when we were growing up. As children, a five page story seemed like an eternity, but as an adult, five pages is a teaser. What REALLY happened when the prince chased after the maiden from the ball? Or why was the Beast actually cursed, because a teenager saying “no” to a stranger who asks to stay at his house overnight doesn’t seem all that unthinkable! The older we get, the less we need to learn lessons or be warned away from adventures as opposed to getting to go on adventures, when reality requires us to while away at day jobs. Adding a little more meat, a little more daring and romance and emotion to fairy tales seems like a wonderful way to revitalize a childhood story for an adult mind. Not all Fairy Tales end in Happily Ever After, and only sometimes do they actually start Once Upon a Time…
What is your favorite genre to write?
Fantasy with a strong leaning towards Romance. Not “Romance” romance, but the romantic element that is found in high fantasy stories, the language and the emotion.
Favorite food.
Pasta…and I mean like any type and kind of pasta. Lo mien. Cavatelli. I’ve even found that I enjoy zoodles, though they’re not quite as good as old-fashioned angel hair!
Tea or coffee?
Tea. Tea, 100%! Otherwise, I take my sugar with a lot of milk and a little coffee in it, thank you!
Pizza or ice cream?
I’m gonna catch flack for this, but pizza. I don’t actually like ice cream all that much. I have to be really in the mood for it.
Wine or beer?
Neither! Remember the whole “sugar with milk” comment about coffee, that’s how I like my alcohol too – sweet that hides the taste of the liquor. So, Amaretto Sour is my drink of choice…or anything frozen really.
Where would you like to visit?
Greece. Ever since I was a kid I have LOVED ancient mythology. Greek mythology is the one that we researched and read the most about in school, and so I think that’s why it holds such a place in my heart. I want to see all the historical sites around Greece, see if I can walk where legends walked, feel them in the air around me.
Favorite musical artist.
Do you listen to music when you write? What?
This answer changes on a daily basis. I tend to write to music most times, but the music I choose/listen to often dictates what scene I’m working on. I used to only listen to classical scores or movie soundtracks. Now I tend to listen to folksy type of singers and songwriters, ones that have a special emphasis on the instruments and the lyrics to the songs.
What makes you laugh?
That is a tough one. I have a really odd sense of humor in such that a lot of things make me laugh, and not always things that make others laugh, but often times those things crack me up too. Horrible answers, check! I have a tendency to be self-deprecating, so my sense of humor runs towards that type of comedy, but then I also have this problem that when I get nervous I laugh…so…pretty much everything.
Favorite work of art or sculpture.
The David.
I was privileged enough to travel to Florence and see The David in person. It was one of the most viscerally emotional pieces I’ve ever seen. I have been very lucky, not only to live in a city that boasts a truly exceptional Art Museum, but to have travelled a lot and seen many different masterpieces in my travels, but it’s The David that speaks to me. Here he is, this statue that is supposed to be an example of male beauty, sculpted exceptionally, admired by all, oohed and ahhed over, and he is alone in this room filled with other art work. I know that sounds odd, but when I visited, The David grabbed your attention the minute you walked towards him, but even though his face is serene and innocent, there is this air of sadness to him, at least for me…sorry. I’m going to wax rhapsodic about this one. Yeah, The David.
And, I, too, visited the beautiful David in Florence and was moved to tears. He is exquisite. How old were you when you started writing?
I started writing probably in 7th or 8th grade, so that makes me what, twelve or thirteen years old? Maybe it was 6th grade actually. I had an amazing English teacher who got some of the students involved in a competition called “Power of the Pen.” I had never been a bit writer before that, but being allowed to imagine, encouraged to let the stories in my head out, that freed me. I haven’t put down a pen…or stepped back from a keyboard since.
Do you plan out your book with outlines and notecards? Or just write?
Yes and no. I know what I’m going to write, usually with a beginning and the end, but the story itself is a jumble that just has to come out as it goes. I usually outline after the story is written, but that’s because I write interconnecting tales, so they take place in the same universe and sometimes have overlapping characters, so I need to remember and have a good idea of the narratives that come around my stories without having to go and reread them each time.
Describe your perfect evening.
Late fall when the leaves are colorful but not yet fallen. The sky is overcast but it hasn’t started to rain yet. It’s just the right temperature for a light sweater and a warm fire. Cup of tea with honey to my right, someone with a guitar just playing softly to my left. No lights except the fire and the stars overhead. A good book on my lap, not being read, mind you, just there for when I want to read it, or my computer ready to be worked on, not being used, but ready. There’s always that scent in the air that has a bit of cinnamon and a lot of burning wood to it that fall has. That’s the perfect evening to me, just relaxing in a comfortable bubble without the rest of the world intruding on it…
And then family shows up and ruins it all, but also makes it better because I love them.
Where do you get your inspiration?
Dreams. I LOVE my dreams. I don’t always remember them, but the emotions they evoke stay with me and translate to the page for me.
What do you do when you get a writer's block?
Wait it out. I know that some people say push through it, and I agree to an extent, but I hate feeling like I’m forcing my writing. I think the story suffers for it, so I tend to try not to “push” myself, I let my writing go as it will. Now, I don’t mean to say that I stop working entirely, I just don’t try to push past it and force the narrative. I let it come and go as it will.
Who is your favorite author?
WHY WOULD YOU ASK ME THAT!?!?!?!
I cannot answer this question! I have TOOOO many to name, and I love them all…but…I will give you a list of those that people should definitely look into, especially if they enjoy fantasy novels.
1. Anne Bishop – The Black Jewels Trilogy
2. Sara Douglass – The Wayfarer Redemption Series
3. Elizabeth Hayden – Rhapsody
4. Elizabeth Kerner – Song in the Silence
5. Robin McKinley – The Blue Sword
6. Erin Morgenstern – The Night Circus
Please note, that is not in order of favorite to least favorite, that’s just the way I typed them out! Lol.
Best book you ever read.
I plead the fifth! Lol. There’s no way I can answer this question. As an adult, there are way too many to choose from; as a kid, I went through phases. What I can say about “best book ever” is that “best books” are the ones that resonate and speak to the reader, whether through the characters, the emotions, or even the circumstances. There have been great books that I’ve read that I’ve hated the first time around, and fallen in love with a second time, just because, as a reader and a person, my circumstances and personal choices and journey have changed and evolved and can find something new to relate to in a book.
What I hated as a kid, I can now look at as an adult and see the appeal of it. That’s the beauty of literature. Just because you say you like one thing doesn’t mean you can’t like another or that your tastes can’t change. Yes, I might prefer pizza, but ice cream still satisfies a craving every now an then!
Last book you read.
The last book I read was “Primal Sin” by Ariana Nash. It is actually an LGBTQ fantasy romance novel about angels and demons. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to when its sequel comes out.
What would you do for a living if you weren’t a writer?
Legal secretary by day, author by night…
Oh, you said “if I wasn’t…”
I hold down a full-time job as well as writing. I would love to transition to a teaching position where I was able to share my love of writing and literature with new minds, but at the same time, I’ve always hated how lit teachers told me what to read and how to write about it, so…maybe I wouldn’t be good at that job. But I don’t think that being a writer, or being a secretary, or a teacher, or a banker, or whatever has to be a mutually exclusive pastime. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to write all day for a living, but I enjoy work outside of literature as well.
If you could sit down and have a conversation with ONE person, living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be and why?
Only one, huh? Okay, let me think. I always hate this question because I’m worried about how people will judge my answer. Do I go intellectual? Familiar? Romantic? Religious? I CAN’T CHOOSE!
I think, in the end, I would have to choose a conversation with my Grandpa. He came over to the US in WWII and passed away when my mom was only 5 years old, so she never got to know him, and I never got to meet him. To be able to have a conversation with him, to learn about him and his experiences, I think that would be an amazing experience to have.
What advice would you give someone who aspired to be a writer?
Write. Don’t be afraid of whether or not your story will be read or will sell or make you millions. The truth is, most books don’t do that. But for many many writers, it’s not about the sales that make them pick up pen and put words on paper – it’s about the story. Write the story that speaks to you. Love your story for what it’s worth. Your words have meaning.
Now, if you are looking to make money off of writing, the best advice I have is two-fold. Look at what genres are selling when you decide to sit down and start your story. Gear your work towards those genres, but unique enough to stand apart from them as well. “What makes you readable/marketable” is the question you need to ask yourself. This is followed by: get an agent. The best-selling books, generally speaking, are ones that are traditionally published. If you’re going to traditionally publish, start with an agent first, and that agent should be in New York City proper.
What are you currently working on, if anything?
I’m currently working on two different anthology projects.
The first releases in October 2020 and is a collection of Grimm Fairy Tale Retellings called “Who’s the Fairest? A Sisters Grimm Anthology.” My piece in the project is called “The Snake Leaves” and is based off the original Grimm tale “The Three Snake Leaves” (I wonder where I got my title from?).
The second anthology I’m in releases in January 2021 and is called “Sinners & Saints: A Collection of Romantic Interludes.” My Story in that one is called “The Raven Thief.”
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