How did I start writing? Well, I have to credit my mother. She read bedtimes stories. We also had nights where she insisted my siblings and I make up stories on the spot and tell them to her. I fell in love with creating stories.

I spent a lot of my youth lying under a Chinaberry tree daydreaming and crafting stories. My tales always had one thing in common: A good ole surprise twist. Every day, I would tell myself the same narrative over and over, adding and taking away until I had it the way I wanted from beginning to end. That is exactly how I write today. I traded the Chinaberry tree for walks in the woods.

I wish I could say I am the type of writer who outlines or storyboards then taps out the whole novel at once but that is not me. I may spend a month walking and writing in my head before I sit down at the keyboard. I always stay with the original idea knowing how it starts, how it will end, and the message I want to get across. The twist and turn in between is where I get my thrills. The bigger the curve ball I write, the harder I suspensefully swing for the fence.

 B. R. Almond