"I am a writer. Period." I wasn't so sure about that while writing The Bard of Bryn Doon, which was such an intensely challenging experience that I was seriously tempted to give up. Often. And not only on this book, but on *all* books. Somehow, though, I managed to get through it, and I now think that my newest book may be my best yet! I guess I'm going to keep a writing after all!!

If you’ve read the acknowledgments pages in any of my books, you will know that I am highly sensitive to the energy of place and that I always thank those locales that inspired me in writing that particular work. Well, a few days ago, as I was preparing the acknowledgments for my newest book, it occurred to me that of my soon-to-be-19 books, 17 had been conceived, written and published here in the US!

I'm not saying that I could not have been as creative or successful had my car not turned left instead of right 24 years ago today, but as this country is where I have experienced the bulk of my creative output, today seemed the perfect day to acknowledge that.

It took all the courage I could muster at age 20 to call Gay Montreal and stammer "I-I think I'm gay" into the phone, then take the bus downtown and purposefully talk about it, face-to-face, with a gay man.

Twenty-seven years ago this month The MoonQuest hit me over the head and demanded I write it. I'd never written a novel before and doubted I could. Boy, was I wrong!