When I think about why I love to write--how heavy my interest is in history--and how much I enjoy writing unique contrasting characters, I always come back to my family. I grew up in a very rural area where the nearest town is twenty minutes away. Your neighbors go generations back, as does your own legacy, and you battle with mother nature to find a balance with the past--while living in the present--and worrying over the future. With my Grandmother passing unexpectedly last week, my family--which is large and spends as much time together as is possible--gathered and shared stories while we said goodbye. There was lots of laughter, more so than tears, and a very loving sense of endless time. An odd way to put it, I'm sure, but when you have so many generations collected together, you can't help but feel endless. It is something that has always been present with me, especially when I travel around where I grew up. It didn't matter if you only spe...