As the author, how would you describe your book?
"Peaches and Cream," is a book for women who like nostalgia and enjoy real, yet interesting characters. It is a book with which women of the fifties and early sixties can readily relate. Yet, it is a book that the daughters of these women will love because it will give them a better understanding of the times in which their mothers "came of age," and perhaps give them new insights into the woman their mother has come to be. It is also just a plain good read. There are still women, like myself, who enjoy books that are violence free, do not take you step-by-step into the bedroom and through inimate love-making scenes and do not need four letter words ten times on each page to "make a point" or "seem real."

Can you tell us the behind-the-scenes story about how "Peaches and Cream" came into being? What was the germ? How did the characters come to life? Is there a character who still lives inside of you?
This is a work of fiction and all characters are fictional. However, for each author, many characters in their writings are lying somewhere within. For me, Debra is my counterpart. Some of the incidents in the story are very similar to things that occurred in my own life. Janine is similar to my own sister. My personal story, however, was not exactly one that would entice many readers (outside my own family!) and so Debra and Janine became the characters in a story that provides laughter, tears and much pure reading pleasure. Much of what Debra discovers growing up are things that I, and many women in my age group, also discovered growing up. There is definitely some of Debra inside of me.

Can you tell us something about you as a writer, i.e. when you started writing, what's your creative process is like, what inspires you, etc.?
I have been writing for as long as I can remember. I was always an avid reader, beginning at a young age when my mother read to me. Even when I was old enough to read on my own, my mom and I set aside special times where she read to me - all the "Anne of Green Gables" books, and others too numerous to mention, most of which had a strong female character. I began making up stories in my head before I could even write. I loved writing in school and began journaling and writing short stories when I was in college. I took a couple of creative writing courses which were helpful. As an adult, in the late 1980's, I went back to school and got my Master's Degree in reading/writing education. It was through this that I learned the real discipline it takes to write. I get ideas from life - my life, the life of friends, articles I read in newspapers, and from evesdropping in restaurants! However, as my husband says (with a smile), "You have a very strange mind." Strange, I suppose, but it is constantly creating.

How do you keep a balance between family, work, and your writing?
When my daughter was young, I wrote down little notes and memories in a journal. I was busy being a young mom and wife and since I was only able to have one child, I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, even during a period when such persons received strange looks and were constantly asked, "When are you going back to work?" When my daughter began driving and could get herself to all her activities without depending on me, I went back to teaching. I taught reading and writing to elementary students for several years and then went to a private school for gifted and talented children. This was the highlight of my working life and I will never forget the children I taught there nor the lessons I learned. I began writing and submitting in the early ninties. I took a class, not on creative writing, but on marketing. It opened the world of writing to me. From that point on, I wrote and wrote and wrote and even began to sell! I had a busy daughter who had her own life by then and a husband who supported me completely. Still, I seldom wrote on weekends (unless he was off playing golf) and kept most evenings free for family. My husband died in 1997 and for a long time I could not read nor write. I tried journaling, but cannot make sense of what I wrote even today. In 2000, I began writing and submitting again and it was like reuniting with an old friend. I remarried in 2002, and my new husband is as supportive and encouraging as can be. So I am a fortunate lady - I have never had to do much of a balancing act.

Can you tell us something about you as a person?
I think my best points are my sense of humor and my ability to live and enjoy each moment as it comes. I have generally been content with my life and if not, have done whatever is sensible and necessary to change it. I am not an envious person (although, I must admit to a twinge of jealousy over J.K. Rowling!) Having gone through a long, horrific illness with my first husband and surviving his death, I have learned the importance of putting things in proper perspective. I try hard not to "sweat the small stuff." My least attractive points are my desire to be in control (sometimes good, sometimes really bad) and my impatience with getting things done. Writing helps me here, because it is a definite process. But I tend to "want this done - right now!" Fortunately my husband is a very calm, easy-going man who helps me accept a more let-things-work-out-in-time attitude.

If you had a chance to be mentored by one author (living or dead), who would you choose and why?
I think Taylor Caldwell. She had an incredible ability to draw the reader into her books. Her command of language was superb and her knowledge of the world was incredible. I think that, for me, her outlook was somewhat pessimistic, but her ability as a writer was amazing.

Despite the wisdom that says you can't take it with you, if you could take four things with you when you leave this world, what would they be?
Good books, my favorite CD's, my computer and . . . more books. My picture of heaven is a big library loaded with all the music I could ever want to listen to and all the books I could ever want to read. And the computer to do my own writing.

What is your view of epublishing? What opportunities does it provide for you and for other authors? What do you think is the future of epublishing?
I have to admit, I was very wary of epublishing at first. Then I began a long period of research and converstations (on and off line) with other writers, visited numerous epulishing sites, visited many epublishing review sites and eventually begin to get very excited about what I saw as an idea with a great future.

AS an author, it provides me with a way to have my work seen in a brand new way. I think it is wonderful for books that have a smaller niche as a genre and those writers who want to experiment with new formats and ideas. If a writer does want to sell and share her work (and some prefer to write simply for thier own satisfaction), then epublishing offers an excellent way to put your work out there and see if there are any takers.

What other published works do you want us to know about?
I have published in numerous periodicals. Many of them are for children, mostly fiction. I have published in "Pockets," "Highlights," and a variety of church related publications for children. While I wrote these from a Christian aspect (and within that group, from various viewpoints) all of what I wrote contained what I consider prime ingrediants for children's literature - fun reading, good characters and an opportunity to learn. I have also published in a number of periodicals for women and (sigh) for seniors. Most recently, my article, "Thoughts On Becoming A Grandmother," was published in CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE MOTHER AND DAUGHTER SOUL," and "Winding Path of Life," published in WHISPERS FROM HEAVEN. I just sold my second article, "Christmas Carols for a Hurting Heart," to WHISPERS FROM HEAVEN.

What projects are you currently working on?
I am a member of an online, members only, critique group which is great.

I am working on a novel about two old friends who meet, talk and discover that one woman's son and the other woman's daughter might just possibly be half-siblings. Of course, the son and daughter fall in love and the situation is complicated by the fact that one woman's husband is dead (his ashes floating peacefully through the Rocky Mountains) and the other woman never married. The suspected father is long gone and the two women begin a search (sometimes humorous, sometimes very tricky) for this somewhat unsavory man.

I have completed a book for middle readers that is about a lonely girl who steps into an entrancing painting and begins a journey of fascination and self-awareness. I am in the process of editing and marketing that now.

I always have three or more articles or short stories in the process - either being written, being submitted, or being edited.

Why do you write?
Because I have to.