I am the middle child of three. I have an older brother and a younger sister. Growing up in North Las Vegas, Nevada, our house was under the flight path of the Thunderbirds stationed at Nellis Air Force Base. In the early to late 70s in Las Vegas, I was very lucky because we had a quarter mile of open desert for our front yard. And, with my sister and I being tomboys (we got that from our mom, if you can believe it) we spent a lot of time in the desert with our brother catching horned toads and lizards. We rode mini-bikes and bicycles. Our feet were so calloused because we hated to wear shoes, we could run around barefoot in the sand and not notice the stickers.
Although we rarely had extra money, we always had books. Picture books, story books, mysteries, adventure novels, classics, science, electronics, science fiction, fantasy (*sigh* Dragonlance and Raistlin I miss you) -- you name it we had it because both my parents loved to read and we loved to have them read to us.
According to my mother, I was able to pick out sight words and read simple sentences before starting kindergarten. And I loved to change the stories around. Or change the endings. I guess my love of writing started there. I do know that by the end of 6th grade I had read the majority of the fiction section in my school library and part of the non-fiction section.
I wrote my first romance novel in 7th or 8th grade. I'd graduated to series romance novels by then and never strayed too far from the romance genre since. Somehow, through the years, writing has become second nature to me. I very rarely pass information up that I don't stop and think "What if...?" (It's that what if element in me that has me rootless and tumbling like a tumbleweed from place to place.)
After graduating high school I worked a number of jobs. I was a dispatcher for an armored car service, finance application processor in a furniture store, retail store clerk, change person in a casino, and a bookseller, but only the bookseller job lasted longer than six months.
When the opportunity presented itself to visit a friend in Alaska, I went. Then stayed there for 10 years. I loved Anchorage and if I could afford to live there again, I would. I've been away since 2003, but I miss it. I miss driving down the highway from Anchorage to Girdwood. I miss Chair 5 pizzas, and watching the whales and eagles at Beluga Point. I miss getting up at 2 am to drive up toward Talkeetna to go fishing (catch and release only). And I miss the Northern Lights.
In 2003, I moved south to Montana. The country side is beautiful there and the drive from Billings to Lame Deer at 5 am was always interesting. I only spent three years in Montana before going south again, this time to North Carolina.
I've been in Raleigh since 2006 and I'm enjoying it almost as much as I enjoyed Alaska. The people and environment are stimulating.
No matter where I've lived or who I've met, I have always gravitated toward writers. I guess the craft is in my blood now, because I can't think of anything more fun (besides teaching) than sitting down and writing a book where you can have a say in how things are going to end - or the illusion of having a say about how things are going to end. I never say I choose the endings of my books, because I don't. My characters do and I have fun along the way.
If there's anything you'd like to know about me, feel free to ask, I do reserve the right to say no when it comes to answering. I mean really, TMI just ruins the mystery, don't you think?
You can email me at: qwilliarain@gmail.com
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Q
