I decided to be a writer when I was a child, eleven years old to be exact. My ambition to write a novel came from my love of storytelling, oral and written. I am blessed to be from a family of colorful storytellers.

So far most of my novels have been romance or women’s fiction. I have always read and loved romance novels. I love to read these stories and about relationships. When I was in college I discovered stories about contemporary women and the issues they faced. I write both.

As a writer it’s hard to name one person. As I said my family has most influenced me because my relatives on both sides are wonderful at spinning stories. I loved listening to them. As a toddler I discovered the joy of books. I would have to say my family influenced first and foremost, next the people in my community.

Among the writers you read, who would you say has had the greatest influence on you?

Agatha Christie, Maya Angelou, Ernest Gaines and Langston Hughes.

How have your personal experiences influenced the direction of your writing?

I’ve always been very curious so watching the mini-dramas around me as a child fired my imagination. There is at least one event from my past that has inspired each one of my novels. Not that these were things that happened to me, but started the “What if” process in my writer’s brain. Watching how relationships are formed, change and sadly sometimes broken has had a great impact on the kind of stories I tell. I'm not just talking about male/female romantic relationships, but family ties, friends and even the ties between enemies.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

Getting it right. My biggest concern is to not just be accurate in research but to make a story and its characters come alive for readers.

Next comes my effort to let the world know about my stories and finding time to promote or market my writing. In this information age with so many information outlets competing for our attention, not to mention the sheer number of books available, it’s a tough job.

Publishing is a contact sport. Staying published is difficult because sales of books decrease while the number of books on sale increase. It is hard for authors to stay in the marketplace and keep sales up so that publishers keep buying. Authors have to face a lot from reviewers, editors and more. Tough business all the way around.

How do you deal with these challenges?

I tend to rely a lot on using the Internet, my websites. I also try to network as much as possible. Still I try to keep in mind that the writing must be served. That is I can’t get too distracted or exhausted to create the best books I can. To stay fresh I take time out to rest and regenerate.