Who Am I?
I was born a bard. Long before I could read or write I held court beneath the willow tree and amused the neighbor kids with tales of fairies or a mouse named Millie. By the time I started school I had a small following and we often met on the lawn during recess. Some of my devotees faded away when I reached my teens and my passion turned to poetry. That’s also when the mood swings began, and my writing reflected the extremes of emotion that have largely defined my life. The mental peaks and chasms were brutal and required me to be hyper vigilant in order to function, which in an odd way honed my skills as an author. Young adulthood was shadowed by mental and personal challenges that provided plenty of fodder for poetry as well as essays and op-eds that ended up in little magazines and publications nationwide. For years, I confined my writing to short pieces for fear that my mercurial moods would not allow me the focus to complete a novel. And then one day at the landfill, the novel came to me. It was as if all of the anguish, ecstasy, and necessary observations found voice in my characters and expression in the world they inhabit. Writing "Lorcan’s Bane" was like coming home to a place I had only yearned for. The book was a shock. Not only did the words flow, "Lorcan’s Bane" won four national awards, even though it was self-published and I only entered five book contests. Writing "Boann’s Daughters" was not quite so blissful. My characters were not as forthcoming, which required a different approach altogether. I had to coax the darker, more sensual aspects of magic from them in order to tell their story. That process helped me grow as an author. That novel led to the next, "Harrow Keep", which is still telling itself and commanding my devotion. I expect to complete it by mid-autumn. I don’t know what I would do with myself if I did not write. Lest I sound too dramatic, I was born a bard and have little say in the matter.
