Frequently Asked Questions How did you come into writing? Where do you get your story ideas? How did you find an agent/publisher? Do you have a disciplined writing schedule? What do the people of Battle Lake think of your mystery series? I do not. What I do have is a full-time teaching job, two young children, and stories that won't leave me alone, so I make it work. With every book, finding time to write is like wrestling with a monkey. A clever, strong monkey that doesn't want to wrestle and would rather watch TV, or read someone else's book, or clean the bathroom with a Q-tip. Some nights, the monkey wins, and I watch The Office or go to bed at 9:00, but I win often enough that I can turn out a book every six months. I've said it before and I'll say it again: when I write, I feel like I'm in the right place at the right time, and that is not a sensation to be wasted. But even though it's always satisfying, it's never easy.