By the 8th grade I'd fallen in love with poetry and reading, but it was during my high school years I started dreaming about "someday", which didn't come until I turned 40.

Five years ago, I would have said all the first Romance Authors (70-80's), Johanna Lindsay, Julie Garwood, Amanda Quick, and I think they did influence me, but I've read very widely, in all genres, and everything from the Bible to Bios and History books. I changed my style of writing somewhere mid-stream, a few years back, and that was due to reading male fiction/short story authors, as well as digging into nonfiction. I still think it comes down to (storytellers) influencing me, but I'll draw from strong writers, descriptive, clear voice, great visual and emotions... I believe the more you read, the better you write, so maybe influence is an ongoing thing,:) which is good, because it represents growth to a writer.

This is always a hard question. I have to say as Gayle, it is Whispers in the Dark, as Eve it is a toss between Bring on the Rain and The Bond and The Brand, and as B.D. it's what I'm currently working on...yeah that's a teaser. I have to love whatever story I'm writing at the moment, otherwise, I couldn't write it.

Read a lot, read people who write better than you, different than you, and read a variety of voices, genres, and write all the time. Every day write something. We've all got those (green) books, and a few of us have them floating around out there, warts and all. But you only find your voice when you write often and finish something you start.  Take only the advice that makes you productive/helps you personally, and trust your gut. Love what you're writing and be open to growth, always, no matter how long you have been writing.

Be real with readers, I'm not one who will tell you to envision fame and fortune, because that's not reality for most writers. I believe in imagining that intimacy with the reader, and let your story be honest, true to the characters, and it will be likewise to the readers. All opinions are subjective, so keep everything in perspective. Every gift, be it music or painting, writing, takes practice and focus to develop. Let your greatest influence be your own desire to connect with readers who love a good story...in any genre.  

It's A Wonderful Life, anything John Wayne, Cary Grant, Cagney, Bogart, Hope Floats, Steel Magnolias, Underworld, Braveheart, Kingdom of Heaven, Pirates of the Caribbean (all of them), Lord Of The Rings, X-Men, The Notebook....many more.

Darn, there have been so many. I'm one of those people who tell on themselves all the time when that happens. I suppose if I have to pick one, it would be when I went for an OBGYN exam in the 90's and it was a new doctor. He looked just like Jeff Daniels’ character (Harry) in Dumb and Dumber and I cracked up laughing, laughed all the way through a pap. Afterward, he asked me (straight-faced) what was so funny. I told him I laugh when I get nervous, but I mean...really, he looked just like the guy! Not the character you want to imagine down there with a big light...

My romantic moments can sometimes be confused with my most hilarious, but that's another topic. I'd say when my hubby and I were first married, we didn't have anything but kids, jobs, hospital bills, no money, no car, nothing, and he brought me a rose on our anniversary. I cried. I'd made him a card from Valentine’s Day wrapping paper--and we sat on the kitchen counter eating a jar of peanut butter and made passionate love for the rest of the night.  There have been a lot of those moments, even after our jobs and circumstances improved; but you see, the rose had gotten warm, and some of the petals fell off, so he'd opened my hand and put them in there—ah well, I'm getting all sappy now.