1. What motivated you to start writing?

 

Like most writers, I’m a misunderstood person trying to be understood through my work. Plus I love words, and it’s cheaper than therapy.

 

2. Has writing been your hobby from childhood or did it just come to your mind recently?

 

As a child I wrote poetry, and in my teen years I kept a journal that was so long (750 pages) I needed a crane to lift it. I still read it sometimes on very slow, rainy afternoons. Who knew I was writing my first book on all those scraps of paper?

 

3. What is your book about? Any particular genre?

 

My latest novel, A Dead End in Vegas, is about a married woman named Tricia who lives in Denver. When her long-time husband cheats on her, she’s devastated and turns to a guy she meets online for comfort and attention. After a few months, they plan a romantic week in Las Vegas. She shows up, but he doesn’t. As a consolation prize, he sends a friend to take her to dinner. She goes, and ends up having an affair with him. Two days later, her nude body is found by a hotel maid. The book explores how and why she died and delves into the ways her husband, son, and friends cope.

 

4. Why did you choose to write in your particular field or genre?

 

The genre of my first novel, A Slot Machine Ate My Midlife Crisis, is humor. I wanted to see life in a funny, bizarre way and share that with readers.

 

I chose to write A Dead End in Vegas, which is dramatic, because it was a challenge after the humor. I’m currently working on another dramatic novel. It’s going well and should come out in 2016 or 2017, if all the planets are in their proper alignment.

 

5. How long have you been writing? And how many hours do you spend on writing in a day?

 

I’ve been writing since I was about 10 years old.

 

I work from one to five hours a day, depending on what else going on in my life. It’s sort of a compulsion I can’t kick.

 

6. Do you read a lot of books?

 

Yes, I especially love biographies. When I crave a novel, I reach for the classics. Madame Bovary, The Portrait of a Lady, and The House of Mirth are a few of my faves. I also read a lot of magazines and newspapers.

 

7. What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them? 

 

A Dead End in Vegas is a moody, darkly romantic novel. When the normal, orderly lives of the characters get turned upside down by Tricia’s sudden, shocking death, they all react in different ways that ultimately change them forever. I think that’s something a lot of readers can relate to. So, yes, it does achieve its goals.

 

8. What was the hardest part of writing this book? 

 

Immersing myself in some of the sadder emotions the characters feel.

 

9. What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

 

Creating the characters and getting to know them. I felt like they were friends. I still think about them and wonder how they are.

 

10. How did you get to be where you are in your life today?

 

Luck, genes, perseverance, and lots of chocolate.

 

12. What are some ways in which you promote your work?  Do you find that these add to or detract from your writing time?

 

I love Twitter—it’s time-consuming, but worth it. Marketing is fun, but it often requires interacting with others. Writing is more of a solitary experience, so it’s a shift of moods. It’s hard to balance them both sometimes.

 

13. What do you do in your free time?

 

Read, socialize, go to the movies, exercise. Writing keeps you immobilized for long periods, so it’s important to get up and move.