A good edit process turns rocks into diamonds, and every author should love that part as much as the creative phase. I do love it. It's a different side to writing. It's like the fine-tuning.

My experiences always influence my writing, but usually only on an emotional level. I have experienced death of a family member and it's easy to dredge up those feelings and get them on the page.

There are days when I don't want to go to the gym or find myself not super motivated upon arriving. I would visualize myself playing at the Olympics.

Setting can be something that is a major player in a scene, something that makes the mood leap from the page. But if an author doesn't handle it right, it falls flat or seems overdone. It is a challenge getting it "just right".

Pickup lines are a major turn-off, they don't work on me and I tune them out. It's better to just be honest.

The editing process is a necessary evil. I can write until the cows come home but it is all garbage until it gets edited.

Dialogue saves me. I love writing the conversations between my paper people. For some reason, that is the easiest thing for me. It's like I am a transcriptionist for the voices in my head. I can hear them talking (mentally) and have a gift for getting it on the page.