1. SR: Was there someone from your childhood who inspired or influenced you to become a writer?
KW: I am ashamed to say this but no, not really. If anything inspired me to be a writer it's all the books I read. I was such a reader,and reading got me through some very tough years emotionally. But I can't really look to any specific person that inspired me. My mother writes, and almost everybody in my family writes. For many years I actually decided I didn't want to be a writer like everybody else in my family! It was a way of being rebellious I guess.
2. SR: What is the first memory you have when you realized you wanted to be a writer?
KW: Um, I guess I thought, "I read a lot. I think I can write. Maybe I can make some added income." We had spent our tax return on a computer and felt really guilty that it was so expensive when we needed so much. I wanted to use the computer to pay for itself, and since I'm a terrible salesperson any type of computer sales business was out. So I tried my hand at writing. It was something I enjoyed doing, that I could do at home. I'm sure that's not a very "pure" motive, but if I'm going to be honest.... Now looking back it was also a naive motive. In the first two years of writing I made a whopping $250 which didn't pay for the computer, I'll confess! I'm lucky I started to make money. Most people don't make enough to live on.
