Frequently Asked Questions

QUESTION: Do you use AI at all when writing?

Answer: "The answer is NO! As far as ideas or style of writing (good or bad), absolutely not! I do, however, use a program for correcting grammar. I am a notorious comma abuser. Grammarly helps me with punctuation, but that's all when it comes to AI."

QUESTION: Do you draw on personal experiences for your writing?

Answer: "Totally. I wrote three Hollywood-centric novels, Flicka's LOVERS, The Fifth Seduction, and BEER POUR. My intimate knowledge of the film industry from years as a producer made those books come to life. GOOSE CREEK HOLLER is an Appalachian tale. My mother was born in the countryside of Appalachia. Her unique sayings are all over that book. ("It's hotter 'n blue blazes.") The premise came from real research on an area where similar crimes took place. I didn't want to write a real-crime novel; that's not my style, but I fictionalized real-world events to produce GOOSE CREEK HOLLER, and I hope it exudes that gritty realism for readers."

Question: Do you have a favorite part about becoming an author?

Answer: "That's twofold. One aspect I like a lot is learning new things during the writing process. Having to research things along the way. Finding out about new worlds that I would not have been inclined to delve into. Like with BEER POUR, I learned more about the world of beer than I ever would have. Even the light romances, Flicka's LOVERS and The Fifth Seduction, I learned things along the way. GOOSE CREEK HOLLER was a lot of research. The other thing I like about writing is that often the story reveals itself as you go along. That's really fun. Honestly, I hadn't actually planned on adding a murder to GOOSE CREEK HOLLER when I began writing it, because murder was not one of the real-life crimes I researched. But then it easily fell into place."

Question: What's the hardest thing about writing a book? If I wanted to write my first book, what would you tell me?

Answer: Dive in. See if you like writing. It's definitely a discipline. It's hard. You'll find out fairly quickly whether it interests you enough to sustain the process. I wrote my first book, not thinking I'd write another one. Now my fourth book is launching. I have two other books in various stages, and I'm stuck on both. One is half written, and I have no clue where to go with it. The other one, I know the beginning and the end, and I'm stuck on the middle. Writing a whole book is a challenging endeavor, and the process is different for everyone. And I write short novels. I have deep respect for someone who can produce an epic novel. A friend told me the novel he was working on was 495 pages so far. I could never write a 500-page novel. But I speak from very limited experience, so you might query a more experienced writer, too. Good luck!

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