Look and Listen

Biography

Snarly elves are my specialty. My scattered reviews consider my take on elves -- different, even though conflict over magic-users vs normal humans is a cornerstone of my story lines. Other people think my Half-Elven stories are fast-paced, exciting, and have engaging characters. Fantasy has intrigued me since I read the Oz, Tarzan books and comic books as a kid. As a teen, I discovered A. Merritt, Leigh Brackett, and Fritz Leiber among other fantasy writers in the paperbacks at a hardware/junk store. British children’s fantasy writers like Lloyd Alexander, Susan Cooper, and Molly Hunter reinforced my interest. It’s no wonder I write fantasy. Writing became a habit with me when my sixth grade teacher had us write a story for English. First I hated it, grumping all the way, but then, decided I liked creating worlds. I have been writing ever since though most of my scribbles are lost in the detritus of time. I started writing in the world of the Far Isle Half-Elven in the early 2000s when I became intrigued about the effects of population genetics on an elf/human population. The stories were complicated because the elvish characters endured for over 400 years while generations of humans died. Some think Mariah is the character I identify with … but it’s Renna who succumbs to human aging who interests me more.

Inspiration

I don't know whether I can say "I'm inspired". Characters start talking in my head when I don't concentrate, like when I pet the grey cat in the morning. Some create stronger images in my mind than others. These characters interest me enough that I end up telling their stories. At the moment I have several complete and partial novel drafts in my computer. An example from my current work in progress, the first novel of my Hag Stone Magic trilogy: The image of a young child sitting in the back seat of a car, clutching her hag stone necklace, while her grandmother tried to evade a car of an opposing faction chased them through steep mountain roads. The books concern an older MacKenzie Finlow, but the chase haunts her nightmares.