This section is a bit about the things I have been asked. This isn’t an autobiography page with my birthday (I’m a Gemini) or other stats about me. No, I'm not Kathryn. I'm not much of a coffee drinker either.


This photo is featured in High Tide.

I’m often asked what writing books I use.
First, is a spelling dictionary. I am dyslexic and spellcheck can’t always figure out what word I mean. The only book I ever recommend for writing is The Complete Book of Scriptwriting by J. Michael Straczynski. No, the author doesn’t know that I recommend his book.

What books do I read to prepare to write?
I have a hard fast rule NOT to read books in my genre. I think that is the worst advice that is floating around the industry – unless, of course, you want to write like someone else. Why write what has been written? Find your own voice! Find your own story!

The people I admire are those who have impacted social change or advanced who we are as people. Eleanor Roosevelt, is one of my all time favorites. There is a whole list, but these are the ones that come to mind: Joan Finney, former Governor of Kansas; Chuck Yegar and all the test pilots, astronauts, and scientists who took the next step after the Wright Brothers, including the barnstormers, the Lindberghs, and Earharts; the college kid in Topeka and the motorcyclists who stand up to Fred Phelps; Lois Johnson who earned a Ph.D. when black women had to sit in the hallway and listen to lectures through the door.

Photography:
I own three very nice 35 mm cameras, however I often use a $5 disposable camera when on the beach. It is either a good picture or not, and any camera should be able to capture it. I rarely take photos with people in them so that the photo will not be dated by the clothing. I take lots of Mom type photos, but they are not for the website.

I elected to use snapshot-like photos for my author photo because it seemed to fit the setting of the book.

Writing:
All seven of my books begin in the middle of a conversation. To date, all of the books are written first person present tense, in the perspective of the protagonist. It is a very enjoyable style of writing for me. While I write, I can "get into character" in much the same way an actor does to play a role.

More about writing:
I write literary treats into my stories. Speed readers might miss them, but a lot of readers are catching them and writing to me about them. For example, the cold is a metaphor as well as part of the setting. The sleet is as much the tears that she can’t cry because she is frozen inside, as it is the winter weather. Go back and read chapter one of Kathryn's Beach now. Think about the melting ice falling from the tree branches...when the beach is stormy or cold.

Would I like to see Kathryn’s Beach a movie?
Absolutely! Wouldn’t you? I love the three stories about Kathryn. I love motion pictures. I would love to see her in an Indie film. And, I’m available to be on the writing staff!

Of the seven books I’ve written or am in the process of writing, High Tide has been the most fun writing in terms of character development. In Kathryn's Beach, Kathryn was broken and that didn’t allow for too much mischief in devising things to do to her in the story. In High Tide, she is stronger and I am able to have a great deal of fun with the voices of the secondary characters. Of the three "Kathryn" books, HT may be my favorite. Ann Zimmerman graciously and generously gave her permission to use her song, Absolute Zero, and her likeness in High Tide, making the story all the more real.

For the record. Kathryn’s story is really fiction. When I was a social worker, no one died on my watch. I made up these characters and no, I have never lived in Nebraska – but, aren’t most small towns a lot like Kathryn's?