What are you working on now?
Currently I am writing a fantasy novel called Bow Song, which is another book in the Firegold series. It is set in time between Firegold and White Midnight and is about Jonathon Brae's mother, Karena, when she was a girl, and his grandmother, Sephonie, when she was a girl. I am also writing a Unicorn Mystery series.

What inspired your books?
FIREGOLD was inspired by my husband’s family orchard in Eastern Washington. On the farm, they grow Bartlett pears, Anjou pears, and Honeycrisp apples. Firegold was also inspired by a memory I had of something that happened when I was four years old. I was all alone, sitting beside a river, when suddenly, I felt a shiver run down my spine. I looked up. Across the river, someone, or something, with huge strange eyes was watching me. That memory, of being watched by a river, inspired the opening chapter of Firegold, where a girl with strange eyes watches my hero, Jonathon, as he fishes. It was the first scene I wrote for the book. The farm also inspired WHITE MIDNIGHT, which has the same setting as Firegold. When I was writing FRIEGOLD, many questions came up about Jonathon's ancestors, and I wrote their story in WHITE MIDNIGHT.

ARIA OF THE SEA was inspired by my eleven years of ballet training. From the ages of five to sixteen, I wanted to be a ballet dancer. It was difficult for me to quit dancing after devoting so many years to it. I wanted to write about that struggle. The setting of the book was inspired by the Queen Charlotte Islands in Canada and by Puget Sound.

THE PHOENIX DANCE was inspired by the Grimm's fairy tale of The Twelve Dancing Princesses and by my personal experience with Bipolar II Illness. You can read more about that on the page about the book.

AVIELLE OF RHIA was inspired by September Eleventh. You can read more about that on the page about the book.

How old were you when you started writing?
I knew I wanted to be a writer ever since I was in the second grade. My second grade teacher saw that I had talent and she encouraged me. I took creative writing classes in college, but it wasn’t until I was twenty-eight, after I bought my first computer, that I started writing every day.

How long did it take you to write FIREGOLD, your first book?
It took me five years to write FIREGOLD and five years to sell it. While I was trying to sell it, I wrote ARIA OF THE SEA.

How long did it take you to write your other books?
Two to three years for each book.

Which one of your books is your favorite?
It's a toss-up between AVIELLE OF RHIA and WHITE MIDNIGHT.

How many hours a day do you spend writing?
Four to five hours a day—usually five or six days per week.

Will you be writing a sequel to FIREGOLD?
I am not planning to write a sequel at this time, but you never know. I am writing another book in the series though. See the first question.

How do you pronounce Dalriada?
Doll-ree-ah-da.

How do you pronounce Cerinthe?
Sir-inth—with the accent on the "inth."

How do you pronounce Avielle?
Ah-vi-ell. The final e is silent. The accent is on the "ell."

Do you make a lot of money?
No. Being a writer usually does not make you rich. It's a lot of fun, which is the major reward.

Do you have any children?
No. I have two cats, Scamp and Zena, and two ghost cats, Pal and Upstairs.

What is your favorite young adult books?
THE BLUE SWORD by Robin McKinley. A wonderful fantasy. You have to read it! I also love NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH (and a few little white lies) by Justina Chen Headley, HATTIE BIG SKY by Kirby Larson, and THE BEAST OF NOOR (another fantasy) by Janet Lee Carey

When were you born?
January 4, 1959 in Seattle, Washington.

What do you do in your spare time?
I hike, canoe, fly-fish, garden, read, and sing.