On my mother's side of the family, I come from a line of storytellers. My grandmother's stories ranged from my grandfather's arrest for draft resistance in England during World War I, the uncertainty of life during the Troubles in Ireland, to the day she decided to leave her marriage (but didn't). My mother's stories described a rural childhood foreign to my suburban sensibilities but infinitely attractive.

Both of them encouraged me to read and provided me with books to feed a growing habit. When I was seven or eight, I discovered mythology, and the gods and goddesses in those tales were as real to me as the dragons and cats in my own stories are now.

My first writing award came in junior high school, when I won first prize in a schoolwide competition for the best slogan on the subject of good posture. I will spare you by not reprinting it here.

Although writing has always been part of my life, that life has been crowded with other interests. One of these, my passion for metaphysical studies and practice, led to a seemingly unlikely role as the co-owner of a crystal store in Greenwich Village.

In retrospect, these roles led me down the path to fantasy. While most of the people who entered my store were as interested in metaphysics and spirituality as I was, a minority asked where the kryptonite was, and some thought I was a total whack job.

They were probably right. It was a small step from hanging out with crystals to hanging out with dragons. Accepting the bizarre directions my imagination takes has allowed me to conjure up Zen cats, gossip-vending hawks, and other critters.

My work also kept me in the steady habit of writing. This started with a monthly newsletter, which, once I left the store and moved to upstate New York near Woodstock and started a web site, grew to three newsletters, and the following books (also used as email courses):

Think More, Work Less, Allow More Love in Your Life, Crystals and the Chakras, and Bach Flower Remedies: A User-Friendly Guide.

None of these books are fictional, but I use fictional devices and character portraits to illustrate the concepts explored in each book.

I have also had short stories published and a very-far-off-Broadway play produced. Once I began writing in the fantasy genre, I became hooked, and dragons took over my life.