Basic info:I grew up near Washington DC and moved to Norway in 1991. I learned filigree from my late husband, Bjørn, but ran in my own direction with the technique, making it a unique fusion with my own artistic sense. Silver Threads; Making Wire Filigree Jewelry was released by Kalmbach in 2006, but the rights reverted to me after they closed, and I've re-released it as PoD and on Kindle.More recently, I've been exploring my creative spark via fiction, taking years of ideas and daydreams and turning it into The Apara Chronicles. The Apara Chronicles is a unique take on Vampires in a world like our own. They're the grain of truth behind the lore with a science-fiction basis, tossing out the mysticism and most tropes in favor of scientific foundations. They may still have pointy teeth and bite, but they are not what you'd expect! And they're everywhere!The series is a mixture of genres, from paranormal, to sci-fi, action/adventure, and some romance/love subplots. I explore the psychology of a virtually immortal subculture, including a very unique motivation to be far better than their monstrous cousins of traditional vampire fictionThere will be at least 6 books in the series. Five are written. A 6th is in the works, with plenty more ideas to play with! I live in Asheville, North Carolina with my oldest daughter, and her sister living nearby. In addition to writing, I do silversmithing, lapidary, and jewelry photography for others. For more information about the series, and to sign up for my newsletter, google my website.Books are a sliver of an author’s soulA book is influenced by the author’s personality and experiences, no matter how fictional it is. My series, The Apara Chronicles, is no exception. While it is a series about “vampires” known as the Apara, they are far from the denizens of the dark we have come to know from books and movies. In my series, they are living beings, created as guardians who shepherd humanity through its difficult childhood and adolescence. This will give you some insight into where the Apara came from and why you should give it a read. How did I get there, you ask.I grew up reading some of the great women authors of science fiction and fantasy: Anne McCaffrey, Julian May, Marian Zimmer-Bradley, and Andre Norton, who fused fantasy and science fiction in many of their books, giving scientific origins to fantasy worlds like Pern, where genetic engineering was used by early space settlers to transform a small species of fire breathing lizards into dragons to protect them from disaster. All of these women wrote stories about strong, heroic women. Their characters often had psychic or mental powers, often seen as magic, but had their roots in the human mind. I was particularly influenced by Anne McCaffrey’s Talent Series, beginning with To Ride Pegasus, where humans with talents band together to protect humanity with their abilities.I was born in 1966, the same year as Star Trek premiered. Many of the principles of Star Trek influenced me personally, including Roddenberry’s visions of both racial and sexual equality, even if NBC couldn’t deal with a female second in command! I have embraced this in my world of the Apara. Trek also shows that, at its best, humanity, or in this case, Apara-kind, work toward the betterment of mankind. In the case of the Apara, that betterment will lead to humanity becoming a true civilization and joining the rest of the universe. The latter is a primary theme in Julian May’s Galactic Milieu Series.I studied psychology and math secondary education at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland. In the 1980’s, it was still a women’s college, except for commuter students. Ironically, I ended up marrying one of those, who lived in the US temporarily, but was from Norway. Being a women’s college, young women could be more independent-minded and self-confident. There was an emphasis on women in leadership roles, as well. My degrees play a part in my stories. As a student of psychology, I’m interested in what lies behind actions, reactions, and behaviors; not just in the action itself. My mathematical side fits more with my logical, scientific leanings; that led me to give the Apara a science fiction, rather than mystical origin. They are the “grain of truth” behind the lore, but the lore has spiraled into something far different than what they are, and yet, they are hidden by the lore itself, as they don’t fit the tropes. Yes, they have fangs, need to drink blood, live indefinitely, heal quickly, and have ‘powers’, but everything has its reasons… no curses, deals with the devil, or even accidental infections by radioactive bats! They are what they are because they were designed that way, and there is a reason for their dependence on humanity; it keeps them bound to their origins and their duty! In some ways, they are better humans than most of humanity.Living in Norway for 14 years opened my eyes to different cultures and ideas, which helped me create diverse characters and plotlines. It helps create the global tone for the stories, even though much of it takes place in Asheville, North Carolina.Author’s books are written from our souls. We incorporate elements of who we are even if we don’t directly write ourselves in as a character. We often do, in some form or another, and many even use our writing as self-therapy, working out our lives as though our stories were some workbook to deal with what life throws at us, even if the reality is far more boring than the fiction!Lastly, as I am discovering, many authors are neurodivergent, and I am no exception! It wasn’t until my oldest daughter was diagnosed with ADHD, when I was in my 40’s, we figured out she got some of it from me! And yet, my ADHD holds hidden gifts of creativity and a knack for writing dialog and ‘what if’ story lines.Why should you read The Apara Chronicles?They are all about a world where women are not only equal, but can be heroes without wearing a star-spangled bathing suit or tight spandex superhero gear! The focus in the Apara Chronicles is on strong women characters, albeit equal to their male counterparts. While they may fall for some Apara love interest, it is generally their choice to join the fold. They are not being swept off their feet or dragged into darkness by some seductive, rogue vampire who ‘claims’ them. Becoming Apara transforms them into something more than human, such that they can make a difference in the world, small or large, through who they are and the particular powers or talents they have. They are the best of what humanity can offer, transformed into long lived, powerful beings who don’t let that power go to their heads. They live amongst humanity, hidden in broad daylight, often as unsung heroes dedicated to keeping humanity safe from itself. There are plenty of paranormal romance and dark fantasy books out there, and this series does have romantic elements, as well as the psychological stories behind them: from finding love, to healing old wounds, or dealing with the loss of friends and family known for centuries, and the complexities of grief in a nearly immortal society. It’s not a story of dark lust, but a story of an emotional and heroic roller coaster of what life would be like for such people. It is about taking action and making a difference, seeing the long game of humanity, and helping humanity make it through its tumultuous, societal adolescence. There is intellectual and psychological depth to these stories, as well as enough romance to get you invested in the fate of the couples. I get the draw of paranormal and dark romance, as well as paranormal erotica, but this series is for those who want more than a quick fix; but a story with depth, where you can invest yourself in the characters and the outcomes of the stories. So, take a fraction of the time it took me to write these stories, and give book 1: Hidden in Broad Daylight a read! You may end up pulled into the series, just as many of the women in the stories are drawn into the world of the Apara! Read more about this authorRead less about this author