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      I'd say life isn't a straight path.  We twist and turn, reach dead ends and closed doors, but the trick is to not give up.  In general, we want our favorite characters to do the same.  We want them to fulfil their task--their purpose and live happily ever after.

       Life doesn't always mirror a 'happy ending', does it?  Which is why getting lost in a good book can bring a certain feeling of contentment. We're so lost in 'their' world we get to forget the chaos in our own--even if it's only for a little while.

       My parents fought a lot.  The fights I remember the most were when I was ten years old.  As the older of two sisters, I had my own room and would shut myself off.  I can't remember how many times I read The Call ofthe Wild, or Lassie Come Home--the only books I had at that time--but they gave me comfort.

      I want to say it was about a year later, when my parent's fights escalated, I began picking out longer novels.  Little House on the Prairie, A Wrinkle inTime, Treasure Island, Moby Dick, and other classics, helped me get throughsome tougher times.  However, it was when I started reading a series by V.C. Andrews, a desire started.

          I wanted to be a novelist.  I wanted to write stories for readers who needed the same escape I did.  To create worlds and characters readers cared so deeply about, they thought about them long after they read the last page.

          Now that I am an author, I hope I've done that!

Writers:  What inspired you to want to write?  

Readers:  What were your favorite books to get lost in?