All of this got me thinking about the history of the westward expansion, and got me to wondering how the exploration of the Solar System would be changed if there were an indigenous presence out there.

I myself was born in Sacramento, California in 1966.

I graduated from the University of Michigan with a BA in Communications and left formal education behind.

If I get blocked, it is generally because I don't know enough about some aspect of the story or the characters. The answer for this is generally more research, or making more background notes, so the place and person can be more fully realized inside my own mind.

I think the diversity of authors and readers is expanding, which is wonderful, because it means the type of story being told is also expanding.

Fantasy is, of course, booming, and I think it's beginning to stretch its range as well.

My joking answer to this question is that I leave a bowl of milk out on the back porch every night for the Idea Fairy. In the morning, the milk is gone and there's a brand-new shiny idea by the bowl.