Favorite Things

Family and Friends: I love spending time with family and friends, whether we are just visiting in the back yard, camping, or going out to eat. We discuss deep

philosophical subjects, or the new movie out, it just doesn't matter. 

My friends and I like to go out on occasion.  There are a couple of  bars in Springfield, and we've been seen at all of them.  As long as I'm with my friends and family, I'm happy.

The Ocean:  I love the ocean. The smell of salt on the air, the feel of the breeze, the sand under my feet, the sunshine.

Thunderstorms:  I sleep so well during a storm.  I also find it relaxing and romantic.

Animals: They love you unconditionally.

Color:  The world is filled with so much color, so much beauty.  The subtly of shadow and light, the entire spectrum the world has to offer, it's all so gorgeous.

I like to touch things: I'm very sensitive to textures.  I can feel things that a lot of people don't notice, the letters on my keyboard, my lover's tattoo.  When I walk through a store I touch everything.  But I think human touch is the most important.  I love the contact.  My family and friends hug all the time.  I still hold hands with my brother and sit on my mother's lap.

Reading: I love books! Movies are fun, and I enjoy the visual, but there's nothing like a book. The feel of it in my hands, the way the words are put together. I enjoy the language that different writers use, the way a phrase can turn. I have a vivid imagination, I like to see the story unfold in my mind.  

Favorite Author: People ask me who my favorite author is, and that's a really tough question.  I have favorites in each genre.  For crime novels, I love Patricia Cornwell.  She twists everything, and her detail is impeccable.  And Allison Brennan. In horror, I'm a huge Stephen King fan.  I enjoy his stories, but more than that, I love his writing style.  He can make you know what it feels like to be hit by a car hard enough to leave paint embedded in your skin.  I'd love to be able to tap into the kind of communication.  For historical fiction, I've never read anyone more convincing than Lucia St. Clair Robson.  She can put you in a particular time and make you live there. Lesbian fiction is a little more difficult. If you like it "hard core", Kate Allen's Allison Kane series is very good.  If you're looking for something "sweeter" I really enjoyed Katherine V. Forrest's "Curious Wine", the love scenes were beautifully written.  I'm not much into SciFi, but there's no doubt in my mind that Andre Norton is the queen of that genre.  I prefer fantasy.  I really enjoy Ann McCaffery and Mercedes Lackey.  They have each created worlds that will live on much as J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth will.  And yes, I have jumped on the Harry Potter bandwagon.  J.K. Rowling has found the perfect place between children's and adult's entertainment.  I also very much enjoy spirituality books.  I find them enlightening and hopeful.  I read John Edward, Sylvia Brown, I think I've tried them all.

Music:  I love music of all kinds.  I use it when I write, I have some kind of music on almost all the time.  I grew up on Classic Rock, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Seger, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Rolling Stones.  All that great Rock and Roll from the 70's.  But I also like Country, Soft Rock, Pop, Dance.  I listen to a little Classical once in a while.  I also like world music.  African drums, Scottish bagpipes, Irish, Celtic, Bulgarian, Native American traditional music.  I love it all.  Whatever fits my mood and what I'm doing.  I think the world would be a bland place if it didn't have music to fill it.

Mom's house: There are special places in my heart. My mother's has always been a place for me to go to rejuvenate. She fills it with the best energy, you can't help but love it there.

My own home: Home truly is where the heart is, and I do so love my home!

I also feel very strongly about green living. I recycle everything I can, try to reuse everything I can't recycle, and conserve as much as possible. I think it's so important for our world and the next generation, we have to think about what kind of place we are leaving for them.