A. In a way, but I have a somewhat unique writing schedule.  I write when my ‘Muse’, and I’m not sure what that is, exactly, basically Forces me to write.  This comes at various times.

A. I’ve actually been very fortunate that I have not had any bad reviews as of yet.  I should qualify that by saying I haven’t had many reviews, period!  But I feel people are entitled to their opinions and I don’t take criticism personally whether it be of my writing or other parts of my life.

A. I’m always pleased with good reviews, obviously.  But I don’t get a swelled head, sort to speak.

A. Well, my author name is slightly different from my legal name, but what I write does not require me to disguise who I am.  I’m not writing political intrigue or anything controversial.

A. I’m writing a trilogy, so one book leads into another at this point.  The first book, and the only one in print as of now, could be read without the others, but you’d have some unfinished plot lines you’d have to be content with not knowing the outcome.   If I write more than the trilogy some of these could be stand alone, I guess, but there would be references to previous characters and storylines.

A. I don’t write every day. As I noted earlier, I write when I get the urge to do so.  When that happens it’s probably about two hours.  I can’t sit without moving for much longer than that.

A. My two main characters in Tara’s Journey are based on a role-playing game my husband and came up with some years ago.  But nothing is based on our actual lives.  The other characters are just made up.

A. I have Tara’s Journey available on KU on Amazon.  At this point I don’t have a newsletter as there isn’t enough going on to warrant one, although I post often on social media such as Facebook and Instagram.

A. I have many authors I really like.  Morgan Llewellyn and her series that deals with Irish history and mythology.  Her books really sparked my interest in Irish pre-Christian culture and mythology; and I have incorporated my studies in that area into my books.    I also love Anne McCaffrey’s Dragons of Pern series, she does great world building.

A. As my books are fantasies, they don’t require a lot of research.  I spent literal decades researching Norse and Irish pre-Christian cultures and mythology and now I use that previous research in my work.

A. Well, again, I don’t write historical fiction.  But I would assume that if I did, I would be very thorough and meticulous to get known facts correct.

A. Tara’s Journey actually went through 3 rewrites before it was published.  The first was because the first iteration was supposed to be historical fiction.  I was young and since this came from role playing, I didn’t do any research first.  When I went to consider publishing the first time I did research and realized the time and place I had put this story could NOT have happened.  That’s when I decided to make it a fantasy set on another world.

A. I’m retired, I live with my husband of over 40 years and my cat, Alani, in a nice retirement community.  I have one daughter and three wonderful grandchildren whom I see often. I consider myself lucky they live near, as I know many people are often far away from their grandchildren.

A. As noted, I’m retired.  And I don’t write full time.  I also volunteer at a local hospital as the Therapeutic Musician, I play the lap harp.

A. I love to read, I do a bit of gardening, and practicing my harp. I think the hobbies help in my writing as they keep me from becoming too tense about my writing work.

A. I began writing short stories in high school and loved my creative writing class.  I never thought about becoming published until much later and there were gaps in my life when I didn’t write at all, except the occasional poem.

A. The title of Tara’s Journey is the 2^nd of the titles I had for the same story.  It was originally titled The Book of Tara.  But that title had been overused and didn’t seem to have the same impact as the current title.   The second of the trilogy is The Master Lifenstone and I named it that as the story is centered around the search to retrieve the magical gem from its hiding place.  I haven’t settled on the title for the 3^rd book yet.   The series is called “Tales of Eirlandia, as that is the name of the country where more of the action takes place.

Classical music is by far my favourite, especially classical guitar.  My husband plays classical guitar, so I hear it often.  I also have our classical music radio station playing almost constantly, I find it keep my calm and makes it easier to write.

I also enjoy the folk songs and groups of the 1960’s such as Peter, Paul and Mary; the Kingston Trio; Bob Dillon; John Denver; etc.

I like some jazz, especially the easy listening kind.  And again, more the guitar heavy or saxophone.

A. My husband has been very supportive of my writing.  My daughter isn’t a fantasy fan, but she posts about my book signings, etc. on her social media accounts. We are a small family, my older sister is possibly aware I write but has never mentioned it, and I haven’t ever told my older brother, who I’m sure wouldn’t be interested anyway.

A. I only have one book out so far, so obviously that one.  I’m not great on actor and actresses names, so I’m not sure.    I need a red haired, athletic youngish actress for Tara, a petite but athletic brunette for Maeve and a blond, blue-eyed Viking type for Alaric.  I wouldn’t mind if they weren’t super famous.  And, actually, I would prefer it made into a TV series rather than a movie.

A. I tell the story the way I feel it need to be told.  As I don’t have a huge following I don’t KNOW what my readers want, but when I pitch the book most people are very interested.

A. My spirit animal is the Wolf, and I don’t think I have a separate one for my writing.  I’ve always had a great affinity to the wolf, I find them noble creatures who understand loyalty to one’s mate and pack.  They also know the meaning of cooperation.

A. I have my books available on a few international platforms such as Amazon, Barnes, and Noble. Honestly, my favorite part is signing books as I get to interact with the book buyers.

A. I have a general idea of what NEEDS to happen, what the main plot line or lines are, but then I just let my Muse take over.  It seems to work out pretty well.

A . Right now, I am published through the hybrid arm of HarperCollins Publishing.  I would LOVE to get picked up by a traditional publishing house, but I have doubts that will ever happen.

A. From kidnapping victim to queen to mage, follow Tara Prima on her journey towards her destiny. Magic gems, old enemies, love and intrigue await.

The above is my ‘blurb’.  Basically, Tara’s Journey follows the titular character from her late teens, when she is kidnapped by a rival country by a man who becomes her husband through her discovery of the secret of both her heritage and her mother’s necklace, to her adventures in discovering she is heiress to the throne of her country and her many battles, literal and otherwise, she has to overcome.  It is a journey of discovery both on a personal level and a larger one.

A. I keep going because the story of Tara is not yet finished.  Once it is, I don’t know if I will continue to write or not.