Why I Write, + I Own an Emerald!

Hey, all! "Why do you write?" An interviewer asked me that recently, after Where the Red Sands Fly had just come out.

My answer?

"Why do you breathe?" [smiles]

I've been telling stories to myself since I can remember. Some of my happiest memories of the difficult portion of my childhood came from me walking to & from the apartment building I lived in with my mom at 99 Marlee Avenue in Toronto to St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School, about a mile down the road.

I'd skip taking the bus, because I enjoyed the walk [provided I walked down Eglington St; I felt much safer in the predominantly black neighborhood than the edge of Little Italy, but that's another story.], and I enjoyed the walk because of the stories I'd tell myself. I'd mash-up the characters of different shows I'd seen and have a blast in my head, my two favorite being A) joining the space rock-band Andromeda from the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century TV show that aired every Thursday night, and saving Pepperland from the Blue Meanies [Yellow Submarine, the Beatles' cartoon movie. I was obsessed with it as a kid], or B) Saving the slave girl Dale Arden drugs in Flash Gordon from the wrath of Ming the Merciless, and blasting our way back to the safety of Earth. ...yeah, I was that kid. :) ...eventually, writing became the single, only subject I could consistently do well and get praised for in school. Even the cro-mangons and neanderthal men among the students / bullies at school grudgingly complimented the stories I'd write about the Wrong Brothers making the first flying saucer, orthe superhero Cowboy Pete, or The Med Monster of Shaky Creek [my mom still has that last one save in plastic]. So, yeah. I write because I don't know how not to write. I'd still be telling myself goofy stories, but I want to share them and keep them where others can see them. Oh, and in other news: I'm a business owner, now! Yep, my company, Emerald Productions & Ideas, is now officially an LLC registered with the state of Texas! Whoo hoo!

...okay so the AI made her miss a finger on her right hand. Grayson said he'll fix it! :D God bless, JDM