Ayla, I looked for you all my life and didn't know I was looking. You are everything I ever wanted, everything I ever dreamed of in a woman, and more. You are a fascinating enigma, a paradox. You are totally honest, open; you hide nothing: yet you are the most mysterious woman I've ever met.

I can't tell you any more than any other writer can tell you why they write, and I don't know what my influences are.

Life sometimes gets in the way of writing.

There was a time when the young of many clans joined together to make new clans.

The idea led me into the research, which continues to give me more ideas for the story.

From the beginning, when I first got an idea for a story and wondered if I could write it, it has always been the story that has driven me.

Though my books are written from a historical perspective, I have goon so far back that I am in the realm of prehistorical speculation rather than simple historical fact to weave my stories around.