What is your birth date?
4/13/69

Previous occupations:
Proof reader, bus driver, machinist, landscaper, house cleaner, accountant, baker

Favorite job:
Writing – full control over a characters life – fascinating!

High school and/or college:
Hartland High School: Some college at U of Michigan

Name of your favorite composer or music artist:
I don't actually listen to music much but if I had to chose I would say Queen.  Freddie Mercury was a very talented musician and writer.

Favorite movie:
I don't have a favorite. If it makes me laugh and feel good, I like it.

Favorite television show:
I like Criminal Minds, NCIS and King of Queens.

Revealing Questions

Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?
A. Peaceful, full of laughter and worth living.

Q. How would you describe perfect happiness?
A. I would have to say, when you feel at peace with everything you’ve done and have no regrets for the choices you’ve made in your life then you are perfectly happy. I am at that place now.

Q. What’s your greatest fear?
A. Loss of my children.

Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
A. United Kingdom – probably Scotland.

Q. What are your most overused words or phrases?
A. Sweet. Thingy. Bastard.

Q. If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
A. I would love to be able to see the future. I think that would be sweet!

Q. What is your greatest achievement?
A. Raising my children to be bright, talented young ladies.

Q. What’s your greatest flaw?
A. I’m tenacious and hate to give up.

Q. What’s your best quality?
A. My optimistic attitude and strong drive to succeed.

Q. If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
A. I am happy with who I am.

Q. What trait is most noticeable about you?
A. My sense of humor and my smile.

Q. Who is your favorite fictional hero?
A. The Count of Monte Crisco

Q. Who is your favorite fictional villain?
A. I have no favorites but I like when a villain is hated right off and suffers comeuppance in the end.

Q. What’s your fantasy profession?
A. Being a writer is fantasy enough for me.

Q. What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
A. Honor, loyalty, a good sense of humor.

Q. If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
A. Believe it or not, food is low priority for me so I would have to say all types of fruit.

Q. What are your 5 favorite songs?
A. Ever truly loved a woman – Bryan Adams, Only the good die young – Billy Joel, Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen, Foolish Games – Jewel, Daddy’s Hands- Holly Dune

On Books and Writing

Q. Who are your favorite authors?
A. I would have to say Johanna Lindsey and Jude Devereaux.

Q. What are your 5 favorite books of all time?
A. The Malory Series, A Knight in Shining Armor, Incarnation series (Piers Anthony), Vampire series – Linda Lael Miller and my own -  Precious Gifts (Veronica Stone)

Q. Is there a book you love to reread?
A.  I like to reread my own books. It inspires me to write about secondary characters that I would normal forget about.

Q. Do you have one sentence of advice for new writers?
A. Love your characters and give them life. If you can't laugh, cry or cheer for your own characters then no one else will either. Believe in yourself or you’ll never be able to handle the criticism that comes with being a writer.

Q. What comment do you hear most often from your readers?
A. That they love the humor in my books.

Q. How did you come to write Precious Gifts?
A. I come from a family with 5 siblings and we were always in one scrape or another. I wanted to share with the world what it’s like to be a part of a large family. My family was formed from hard work, humor and doing the right thing. I wanted to create characters that stood on their own individuality but banded together to form the core family unit the Hayworth’s possess, no matter what obstacles were thrown at them.