Of Lords and Commoners

I hate books, especially fantasy books, and I hate writing.Just checking to see if you're paying attention. :-) All I want to do is write and read. Actually, I listen to audiobooks. I listen to at least one a month and review it. Mostly fantasy books. I listen while I exercise. This has two benefits. 1) I don't feel guilty for taking time to sit down and read a book but I still get to hear a great story. It is the most time saving way to keep up with the latest books in my genre. 2) It makes my workout go by quicker. Win - win! My best days are the ones I get to spend writing. Then the best of the best days are when a creative twist for my stories hits me, sometimes it feels like an actual slap to the face. My heart races and I know at once that it is the perfect fit for my story. Super fun and what makes writing worthwhile.I was born in Colorado and raised in a small town of eight hundred people. I received a masters of science from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Living in the southeast was an eye-opening experience.I graduated with my Doctorate of Psychology from the University of the Rockies. I specialized in criminology and justice studies. Never a dull moment and VERY interesting to learn about the criminal psyche. I'm often asked if my degrees influenced my writing and they certainly did. In my masters program I studied under Dr. Hood. He was a leader in the psychology of religion. Studying early Christian history greatly influenced my 3rd novel, Of Gods and Goddess. Restorative Justice (RJ) influenced my writing as well. For example, it is how Vallachia chooses to lead her people and deal with her enemies. Some might say that there is no such thing as an enemy, they only exist in fiction stories or in our own minds. I hope to incorporate even more RJ into future books. My extensive travels and at times living overseas has greatly added to my writing material. Being an American Peace Corps Volunteer in Jordan helped me to create the world that I'm currently writing about, A Woman's World. My time studying in China and visiting family in Norway (just to name a few of my travels) have all helped expand my world view, which of course helps my creativity. I am very blessed, my life experiences have given me rich material to write about.Something else that you may find interesting is that I'm dyslexic. I was diagnosed in 2nd grade, as I could not read. My parents were told that I was slow and not intelligent. They said that I would not be able to graduate from high school. Sometimes it pays NOT to listen to the experts. My education also helped give me the confidence and practice that I needed to be able to write for a living. Don't believe limits that others set for you (or ones you set for yourself)! The sky is the not even a limit anymore!!