People with children and people with their own business always pick up a ringing phone.

People with children and people with their own business always pick up a ringing phone.

Readers are paramount. I live to write books for them.

It means working harder to do the research but I don't really mind - I don't think I have what it takes to chase criminals through back alleys and wade through blood at crime scenes.

I like the way words go together and I like the gamesmanship of writing poetry. It is such a challenge.

And life changes. Maybe just a little, maybe a lot. And at some point, it just isn't worth the fight to fix it.

Of course, all writers draw upon their personal experiences in describing day-to-day life and human relationships, but I tend to keep my own experiences largely separate from my stories.