Why write paranormal? For me, the answer is simple. I like ghosts. I believe they exist. I know they exist. I've seen them. I've talked to them. Some of them have even talked back.

Some people may think that's a little nuts. Some might want to get me fitted for a nice white jacket, or get me started on the latest anti-psychic medication. That's why I don't usually discuss my experiences with the paranormal.

Now that I live in a highly-spiritual area of the country, my paranormal experiences seem to happen more frequently. Is it because of the beautiful Black Hills? Or am I just more open now than I was in my late-teens and 20s? Who knows. Maybe both.

Why I write is harder to explain. I've heard it said that a true writer can't not write. I'm not sure I believe that. Some days it would be a lot easier to play computer games or even fold the laundry than stare at a blank computer screen trying to come up with the next scene. But I try anyway. I enjoy it.

I've written my entire life. As a child, I published a small newspaper about the events in my neighborhood. Each press run was one copy, done on leftover school paper with crayon-drawing images that I pretended were photos. As I grew up, I went to college to be a journalist. I joined the Air Force to be a public affairs specialist (any other DINFOS-trained-killers out there?) and to pay for the rest of my college eduction. Now I spend my days writing fiction. Okay, some could say that's what I did in the military, too, but let's not go there.

My first novel, Ghost Mountain, is about a 30-something mother who is compelled by her spirit guide to help solve a murder. Cerri doesn't want to help. She doesn't event want to believe in spirit guides. But the circumstances are too compelling. And the family traditions she's grown up — and tried to abandon — along with her over-riding sense of justice ensure Cerri sees this through to the end. I'm working on the sequel, Sleeping Bears, which takes place during South Dakota's "Motorcycle Mecca."

Cerri and I are a lot alike. We're both on a journey that, at times, seems out of our hands with "talents" we've tried to deny. But we'll both keep plugging along and make it work to our advantage!