The Fiver:

1. What is your writing process?

Unruly, haha. Mostly it’s about inception. I like to think of an idea and then sit on it for awhile, waiting. Yes, procrastination is my middle name, but in this case, it’s helpful. As I stew, I like to watch movies/TV, read non-fiction books, peruse the internet, listen to songs – anything that has the vibe or the information that I need for whatever story is cooking in my head. Most of the time I’ll read or see something that gives me another idea to add to the first and so on. At some point, I do start writing. I always use pen and paper first to plot my points. I like to draw and scribble, it helps. Of course, I can rarely re-read it when I’m done.

2. What inspires you to write?

1. Colors. I love color. When I see neon signs in pink or orange or an awesome blue car, it gets me thinking. 2. Music. Song lyrics are the best kind of poetry. Beats and melody are an emotional pulse. 3. Pictures. Pinterest is my best friend. 4. Film. A dang good movie, or tv show, (even short films), act as a defibrillator. They jump start my brain.

The only inspiration I get from reading fiction, is the inspiration to keep on writing myself so I can be published, or when I’m stuck, technical writing support. It’s weird.

3. Writing is considered a dream job by many, but what if you were granted the opportunity for a true, magical ‘dream job’. What would it be and why?

Writing…and making a decent living doing nothing else. (That last bit is the magical part.)

4. You are standing on a stage, addressing a high school auditorium of teenage creative writers. What advice would you impart to them about the craft and the career path of being a writer?

Don’t think too hard about it in the beginning. Just write whatever is inside your head, even if it stinks. The moment you start chasing originality, theme, dangling-modifiers, edits, re-edits, word count, sentence structure, the point to life, plot holes, and character motivations it sucks your youth and you lose your joy.

I’m not kidding.

I guess my real advice would be: “Make sure you love it because it is so so so incredibly hard. Anyone can write, sure. But not everyone can write well. You’ll never be “good enough.” But you can always get better. And chasing that dream will test your mental and physical metal to the max…for the rest of your life and probably in the hereafter, too.”

5. You’re stranded in a snowed in cabin, well stocked up on food, but no internet. What is on your emergency book shelf?

Anything by Charles Dickens. I’d be thawed out before I finished one book, so I won’t be afraid of reading through my bookshelf too quick.

In all honesty, I’d probably just be sleeping till Spring.

And snacking…

Where to find her:

Snippet/ Teaser:

A girl sat at a table, trapped behind the front window, rippled and drawn by the limpid rain. Her colors blended, black and fern-green, and at her throat, a slash of scarlet that I guessed to be a scarf caught my eye. I realized, just then, that this was the young woman with whom my appointment had been set, and once I went in, unbuttoned my coat, dripped wet from my hem on the broad floorboards, and made her acquaintance, I would be one step closer to her murder.

– Silence of Grindal House

Any other news or updates you would like to share?

Kristin Jacques is awesome. You can quote me on that.