I’m Southern. Let’s get that out of the way first thing, with all the preconceived notions that go along with the statement. I have always loved the South.  Growing up on a small farm, and even now, each spring, I still find the smell of earth to be exciting. I love the slow, languid Summers that melt the will to live for most newcomers. And, being born in January, I love the three weeks of what we call a hard Winter.  

On the other side of the coin, I love to travel and read books, sci-fi and fantasy, art, and liberal thinking. How I became the person I am today is a long story. Beware of putting a kid in front of an old TV and ignoring her.

I watched wonderful old Black & White films, like “Twelve Angry Men” starring Henry Fonda, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” starring Sidney Poitier, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” with Gregory Peck, “War of Worlds,” “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” “The Incredible Shrinking Man,” etc. (Not one Disney film in the bunch. However, I’ve seen every Disney film and animation as a ‘so-called’ adult. I love anime, and lately, I’ve fallen in love with Chinese and Korean period dramas. Actor Wu Lei and Actress Zhao Lusi in “Love Like the Galaxy” and “The Romance of Tiger and Rose” with Actor Ding Yu Xi. I’m trying to put the glamour and love back into my writing in my “Phantom Song” series.) Anyway, left alone to absorb a new world of ideas. These wonderful movies shaped my view of everything.

Don’t worry. Yes, I am an avid reader. Even though our town didn’t have a library, luckily, our school did. Not to mention sneaking my older sister’s books and my brother’s John Prine album.