Most of my story ideas come from my childhood. Sometimes they hatch from stories my parents told me, sometimes they come from experiences in my own life, and sometimes they are inspired by mere moments.

Although I always loved reading and putting words on paper, I never thought about becoming a writer until I was twelve.

When I was a child, the thing I wanted more than anything was to grow up and live in one house. Since my dad was in the Navy, that wasn't possible. Instead, I lived in a different home every couple of years.

My biggest disappointment is that once I'm finished working on the characters, I really do expect to see them in the flesh one day.

My days are filled with writing, reading, and being a mom. Some days, I get to visit schools around the country and talk about what it's like to be a writer. I often feel like I'm pretending, because it's still hard for me to believe it when I see someone holding a book that I've written.

Even though writing articles relies completely on truth, you still must tell an interesting story. You can't worry about people knowing who you are and whether or not they want to read your stories.