Amazon.com: Where are you from? How--if at all--has your sense of place colored your writing?

E.M.: I am from Zambia, a small country in South Central Africa. I currently reside in southern Arizona. My writing does not reflect my background, but it does throw at you bits and pieces of me, so to speak.

Amazon.com: When and why did you begin writing? When did you first consider yourself a writer?

E.M.: I started writing when I was about 10---just for fun. Then one day in high school, a friend of mine asked me to write a story to a predetermined title. The title he gave me was 'Jailed but Innocent.' I wrote the story in about three hours, just a page though. My friend loved the story so much that he passed it around among the other friends. It was well received in that high school community.

That round of congratulations from my postpubescent friends urged me on to step into the literary world. Since then I have been writing mostly for personal validation.I am glad that I am fully writing now because I have so many ideas that I would like to translate into novels.

Amazon.com: Who or what has influenced your writing, and in what way? What books have most influenced your life?

E.M.: I think the major thing that has influenced my writing is my voracious reading. When I am reading a book, I sometimes find myself thinking if I could write something that will not just mirror what I am reading but also transend it. It's strange, huh? I have read so many books that I can't think of one that has actually influenced me most. One thing I know for sure though is that each book that I have read has touched a part of me in its own way. In what way? I don't know. In the same way, I hope that my Silent Whispers(and my future books)will not just touch but will also leave indelible marks of recognition in the minds of the readers.

Amazon.com: What is the most romantic book you've ever read? The scariest? The funniest?

E.M.: My scariest read was Phantoms by Dean R Koontz---my favorite author. I was about 16 when I read that monster of a story. It gave me nightmares.I am not much of a romance fan but I think Nora Roberts does have some colorful characters who make the pages sizzle with sensual qualities.

Amazon.com: What music, if any, most inspires you to write? What do you like to listen to while writing?

E.M.: Easy/Light listening, Soft Rock/Pop, and R&B . While listening to some of this contemporary music, I enter a world of my own, shutting out everything else. Music is a great companion to me. I am pretty sure Celine Dion would offer me free CDs if only she knew how much money I have spent on her music.

Amazon.com: What are you reading now? What CD is currently in your stereo?

E.M.: I am currently reading False Memory by the master of suspense, D.R.Koontz. I have three CDs in my stereo right now. But I was listening to Amy Grant's 'Lead Me On.' Great CD!

Amazon.com: What are you working on?

E.M.: I am working on my second novel tentatively titled 'One of Our Own'. Many books have been written dealing with serial rapists who cause terror by PHYSICALLY harming their victims. There is one element of this scenario which does not involve a 'physical presence' to be a serial rapist. I am exploring that side in my next novel. Time will stand still as the forces of good and evil come head-to-head. I look forward to reading it with you all.