Author FAQ

WHEN WERE YOU BORN?

I was born on July 13, 1962.

(Fun fact, it was Friday the 13th, so I don’t believe the superstition about the day bringing bad luck!)

 

WHERE DID YOU GROW UP?

Provo, Utah, a college town at the base of the Wasatch Mountains.

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SPEAKING OF COLLEGE, WHERE DID YOU GO?

I studied History at Brigham Young University, right in my own hometown. My dad was a professor there.

 

BESIDES WRITING, WHAT OTHER KINDS OF JOBS HAVE YOU HELD?

Too many jobs to list! Some of the most interesting include working for a patent and trademark law firm in Los Angeles, an engineering consulting firm in Phoenix, and the Labor and Human Resources Committee for the U.S. Senate in Washington, D.C.

 

HOW MANY PLACES HAVE YOU CALLED HOME?

I have lived in seven states (Utah, California, Arizona, Washington, D.C., Ohio, Michigan, and North Carolina) and three countries (USA, Finland, and Japan).

 

WHERE DO YOU LIVE NOW?

I live in a small town called Rolesville, near Raleigh, North Carolina.

 

BESIDES WRITING, WHAT KINDS OF THINGS DO YOU LIKE TO DO?

Reading, traveling, hiking, watching movies, spending time with my family and friends.

 

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WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST PUBLISHED BOOK?

STUDENTS ACROSS THE SEVEN SEAS: NOW AND ZEN, published by Puffin Books in 2006

 

WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR IDEAS?

There is no single answer for this. All sorts of things can spark story ideas—an experience, a conversation with a friend, a news report, a song, a fairy tale I loved as a child, you name it. The idea for DEATH BY BIKINI came from a random story generator prompt.

 

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR ASPIRING WRITERS?

Read. Write. Never stop!