Kiki: What is your favorite genre to read in, and what is it about that genre that attracts you to it? If you like a specific mix of genres, please state that particular combination.

Lee: My favorite genre is literary fiction, anything that delves deeply into the human psyche and responds to questions about human existence.

Kiki: What is your favorite author to read in that genre, and why? Also, please tell me a little about the best book by that author you have read.

Lee: I have many favorites, but right now my favorite is Alice Hoffman. I just got finished reading The Ice Queen and once again am floored by this author’s ability to blend Jungian symbols and fairy tale morality with real life. I’d recommend it to a friend or anyone I meet on the street. You can read my review of it here: http://www.literary-magic.com/2010/04/book-review-alice-hoffmans-ice-queen.html

Kiki: Do you have a Favorite Book of All Time? Of course, please tell us what about that book makes it your favorite.

Lee: I have too many books to call favorite and it would be torture to just pick one. As an English major specializing in Medieval and Renaissance Literature I have enjoyed Dante, Shakespeare and Edmund Spenser but I read constantly and so I’m also a fan of every other era from early American to contemporary. I have favorites from every era.

Kiki: What are your reading habits like? For example, how many books do you read on average in a week, what format do you prefer to read in, what time of day do you read, and what setting is ideal for you to get lost in that book?

Lee: I read about a book a week unless I’m bogged down with other things. I can read in any setting with any amount of commotion and noise around me, thanks to my years of raising five children. You just get used to multi-tasking and doing whatever you have to do when it’s needed. I’ll read any time of day, but usually read an hour or two in the evening.

Kiki: If pressed, could you choose a favorite from the books you have written? Why is it your favorite?

Lee: Well, that’s easy, because up until recently I had only written short stories, not a book. My one book, Swimming With Wings, was released in March and is being received very well by the public. Since it’s my only book, I guess I have to call it a favorite, although it’s hard to do that, because like all creations, they are like offspring and it’s not nice to play favorites with children ;)

Kiki: How do you become inspired to write?

Lee: I don’t become inspired to write. I just do it. Long ago, probably when I lost my first husband and became widowed young with three small children, I got over the need for inspiration. When life hits you in the gut like that, you realize there’ s no time to lose and the whole creative process for me is an expeditious process. Some writers and artists seek a muse, but I don’t. I just dip into that vast well that is my being and out comes something spontaneously and half molded, but the fun is in taking it and shaping it into a piece of art or a story. Often these spontaneous elements are just a phrase, a title even, sometimes a dream and then as I weave the story other elements come into play, drawn from experience or spin-offs from classic literature, anything that helps me illustrate the overall theme of the story. And one thing I always do is write the ending before or at least a quarter of the way through the story so I have a target to reach. This is not to say that it doesn’t change, but for me I need that direction in order to know where to put all the peaks in the plot and the story arc.

Kiki: What part of the story do you think is your strength to write?

Lee: My strength is in character driven stories. As I write I become obsessed with my characters. Before I start a story I do a thorough analysis of the character, mapping out all their idiosyncracies, the timeline of their life, their likes and dislikes, even what color they favor and why, so that by the time I’ve finished it’s as if they are a close relative I’ve know all my life.

Kiki: Please share with ABA readers something I did not think to ask you about.

Lee: I’m a founding member of the AiA, Association of Independent Authors, and would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in networking and keeping informed of the status of self-publishing in the publishing industry overall. www.independent-authors.org