As the author, how would you describe your book?
In a neutral meeting ground in the afterlife, Sartre discusses the meaning of life with Dostoevsky, Fitzgerald talks shop with Hemingway, and Wilde trades quips with Thoreau. And at a corner table of the Eternal Cafe, a failed writer and a burned-out social worker sift through the choices and failures of their pasts.

Can you tell us the behind-the-scenes story about how Eternal Cafe came into being? What was the germ? How did the characters come to life? Is there a character who still lives inside of you?
I've always wondered what would happen if some of my favorite historical characters got together for a drink. Eternal Cafe is the result.

The characters of Amber and Morgan are composites of people I've known as both a writer and a social worker. The concept of life in Purgatory is a result of my Catholic upbringing. As a kid in Catholic school, I used to spend a lot of time wondering what people did in the Afterlife. Sitting around playing the harp never sounded too interesting to me. I was sure that people cound find more exciting ways to spend Eternity!

Can you tell us something about you as a writer, i.e. when you started writing, what's your creative process is like, what inspires you, etc.?
I've known since I was seven years old that I wanted to be a writer, but I set aside that goal in favor of a more 'sensible' career. I spent many years as a social worker, but I never stopped wanting to be a writer. As my 39th birthday approached, I decided that it was 'now or never' and I left the social work field to concentrate on writing. Though it's often been frustrating, I feel more 'myself' when I'm creating.

I find that many of my story ideas come when I'm hiking or driving on a long trip. Often I'll sit down to write a particular scene and my characters will hijack my plots and I'll end up with a totally different scene.

How do you keep a balance between family, work, and your writing?
It's taken me many years to give my Muse an important place in my life. Too often in the past I would abandon writing projects when conflicting obligations came up. For me, the most important thing I've ever had to learn is that it's ok to say no to people who want me to abandon my writing to do something with or for them.

Can you tell us something about you as a person?
I enjoy traveling and reading existential, theatre of the absurd and stream of consciousness writing. I'm single by choice and though that seems to be a hard concept for some to understand, I enjoy it immensely.

If you had a chance to be mentored by one author (living or dead), who would you choose and why?
Tom Stoppard because I love theatre of the absurd and my favorite play is "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead." I would love to sit with him and discuss all the esoteric allusions he puts into his work.

I also would have loved to have been part of the "Lost Generation" in Paris during the 1920s. As a group, they are my favorite writers and I believe that they created some of the most lasting works of American literature.

Despite the wisdom that says you can't take it with you, if you could take four things with you when you leave this world, what would they be?
I'd love to enter the Afterlife in my hiking clothes, with my favorite books (guess I'd need to have a little wheel barrow for that), a faithful dog, and my video tapes of classic comedy shows (can't be literary all the time!).

What is your view of epublishing? What opportunities does it provide for you and for other authors? What do you think is the future of epublishing?
I see epublishing as the future of literature. I think it offers people of varying 'voices' the opportunity to find their niche market. I think the internet gives writers throughout the world an opportunity to create a community somewhat like that shared by the writers of the "Lost Generation."

What other published works do you want us to know about?
I've also written a book about dystopias and utopias in film and literature that has been accepted by PulpBits. I've written articles on existentialism, herbalism, stress management and communication techniques.

What projects are you currently working on?
I'm currently writing a book about a murder at a domestic violence shelter.