SUITE: When did you first start writing? First start publishing?(short stories, books,etc)
NANCY: I wrote voraciously as a teenager. Then I moved away from writing until 1995 when I decided that it was time to either put up or shut up. I kept wondering if I could write a novel. My first novel…well, it’s better left huddled in the bottom of my filing cabinet!
The first thing I published was a short horror story to Anotherealm. After that, a few other short stories and articles. I did publish a nutrition booklet for seniors before GRAVEN IMAGES came out, but my novels are where my writer’s heart is.
SUITE: Why do you write?
NANCY: I think for me, the answer to that question was well expressed by R.A. Salvatore when he said, “Aspiring writers? Yeah, simple: if you can quit, then quit. If you can't quit, then you're a writer.”
When I first started writing, it was a challenge. Now, it’s a way of life. Part of me.
SUITE: Do you have a day job?
NANCY: Yes. I coordinate a new program for HUD and the Department on Aging in Wichita, Kansas. I work with elderly and disabled residents of low-income city owned apartment complexes in the Wichita area. We provide transportation, housekeeping and companionship for people who need assistance. I love it, but my goal is to be writing full-time by the time I’m fifty. That deadline isn’t far away, and I’m told all the time that supporting yourself through your writing isn’t achieved often. But, I’ve made my other goals – and I’m the type of person who believes that the only way to fail at something is to never try.
SUITE: Do you have something you wish to accomplish with the things you write? i.e. enjoyment, challenging, fear...what do you want people to take away with them when they read your writing? Do you ever have a message?
NANCY: I think everyone has a message in their writing. We all put our own personalities and beliefs in what we write. I want people to enjoy a good mystery, get so involved in it that for a while they forget the problems in their lives. I also want to leave each reader with a feeling of hope – that good “can” finally triumph over evil. Even if we don’t win every battle along the way.
SUITE: What time of day do you find you are most creative?
