I started reading when I was three. My grandmother instilled the love for the written word in me from a young age. We also used to make up stories together about a little girl who got herself into all kinds of trouble. Maybe you'll see a line of children's books from me one day! 

I wrote my first "book" in the fourth grade. I filled a marble composition notebook with a story about a little girl who found a portal in her backyard that took her to magical places. As an only child, I used reading and writing to entertain myself. The characters became my friends and I couldn't imagine my life without books. I started taking writing seriously when I was in middle school. I used to sit on the front porch and write on this old typewriter that my parents had. I decided then that I would be an author one day.

The number of half-finished manuscripts on my computer is embarrassing! I'm a perfectionist and I always ran into the problem of trying to make my first draft a polished draft at the same time I was writing it. Once I figured out that editing while writing is the best way to kill a project, getting stories completed became easy. The most I've written in a day is fourteen thousand words, but I average about five thousand words in a day. My novels typically range from 70k - 80k words. 

In theory, I could finish writing a manuscript in a week, but life tends to get in the way. The quickest I've gone from first words on the page to ready to publish is two and a half months, but that's about to get even shorter as I progress through writing my Burning for the Bravest Series. My first novel took me four months to complete my draft, but I went weeks without touching it before picking the project back up. Editing usually takes one to two months, depending on my beta readers' and editors' schedules.

I write what I like to read. I create characters that make me fall in love, and I put them in worlds that I can imagine myself in. I always start by writing what I know. Again, being that I'm a perfectionist, I am a stickler for accuracy, so if I can start with something I already have knowledge in, that helps. I'll often incorporate scenes that come from something that's happened in my life or that is from a story I heard from a friend. Experiences spark creativity. 

Often times I'll say, "I want to write a story about X," then I'll sit down and write a scene and let the story just come to me. I'll use people I know or characters in other books or movies as inspiration. Watching a fully-functioning character come to life beneath my fingertips is one of my favorite parts of being a writer. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a psychology degree in my future because I enjoy diving deep into the human psyche.

I'm a CEO and I've started three businesses, so I'm a very busy entrepreneur! I live on the Florida coast with my husband and we like to spend a lot of time outdoors. The beach is my happy place. We're also foodies, so we enjoy delicious food and creative drinks. My favorite pass time though is reading. I love to escape into another world for a little bit every night.

Q: What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

Since I start writing from something familiar, that helps cut down on my research time, which is crucial because...[perfectionist]. That being said, I still spend hours researching. I hate when I read a book that has a plot line or setting I'm familiar with and the facts are off; I refuse to be that kind of writer. Yes, there are times where you need to take some creative liberties, but I try to keep my stories as accurate as possible while still allowing the story to happen.

Q: As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?

I had to ask my husband for help with this one! He says I'm a cat. I'm a silent observer which helps me build my idea bank for stories. I also retreat into myself when I write, going off into my own world. I'm nocturnal, like a cat, and I do my best writing late at night and into the wee hours of the morning. I'm a cat because I'm the one in charge of my novels, getting my characters to do my bidding without them consciously knowing it. I'd say that fits!