While living in Arkansas I was having two manuscripts edited. While I waited for my other works to get back to me I needed to write. I set my hands on the keyboard and literally prayed for inspiration. An idea popped into my head, and I kept typing, and typing, and typing.

My youngest daughter, Laurena, said she remembers that week very well. The first draft of Eve’s Amulet- Book 1 was birthed in a weekend and my daughter brought me food and reminded me to take restroom breaks! Once the draft was finished, I spent the rest of the week doing the preliminary editing, and Laurena continued to make sure I ate and took an occasional break, like walking around nearby Lake Bella Vista.

Eve’s Amulet, Book 1 has been edited many, many times. Scores of people have commented on individual chapters or paragraphs, and I am so grateful for the feedback. I returned to California where college friends and professors shared their input, too.

Being open to constructive criticism is key to any successfully published work and I’m happy to have listened, yet I also acknowledge that in the end, I had to rely on my own intuitive process to tell me what felt right about the work or what required changes.

Death House was written long before Eve’s Amulet but was put on the shelf while I went to “real” work until I gave myself permission to do what I love. Death House came about when my daughter, Jasmin, read a children’s horror story and was so freaked out about the incredibly terrible plot. I told her I could write better than that, and she challenged me to do so. We talked about our worst nightmares and eventually Laurena added her two cents. Between our dialogue and their continual input, Death House was born, bringing to life some of our greatest fears, with the exception of the over-done evil clown dolls.