My current work is Snowfall’s Secret. It’s about a girl from another world who must live like any other tween on Earth (and she suffers from amnesia). Of course, she learns to enjoy shopping at the mall with her very own debit card and has a few secrets. At its core is the message that everyone has value and has something special to share.
The story was inspired by a dream I had when I was twelve. I saw five monks standing in a semi-circle. They were all wearing a triangle-shaped pendant with a red stone in the center. One of the monks looked at me and said, “You’re not ready,” and I woke. I had subsequent dreams of a girl with a pendant to the one the monks wore and I wrote them all down.
My favorite character to write about (funny how that turned out) was a secondary one to the story: Mrs. Margot Greenfield. I based her on a favorite childhood teacher.
By the way, my favorite genre to write is science fiction. Surprise! Just kidding.
My focus right now is science fiction for girls; but I’m still playing around with a short 
story that’s alternative history to give myself a mental stretch. I have this irrational fear that the last thing I finish writing will be my last. I wonder if I’m not alone.
I’m pretty ‘old school’ when it comes to my writing habits. The first thing I do is buy a brand new hand-sized spiral notebook and use it to write the basic story that’s mostly action punctuated here and there by dialogue. The little notebook helps me believe that I’m accomplishing so much. I then use my trusty laptop to write the second draft that looks as if I threw words down to see what sticks. The technical term I like to use is word hurl. Each subsequent draft looks a little more refined than the previous one. I then use the little spiral notebook to make notes and jot down ideas for the story.
I began writing when I was ten and back then we didn’t have home computers.
I’ve been asked advice by aspiring writers. I’m very, very flattered. But let me tell you, I’m still an aspiring writer. My advice is simple: don’t ever, ever (and I mean ever) give up.
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TOMORROW: Henry Anderson drops by with a science-fantasy adventure centering on hope, resolve and finding courage.
A. B. Funkhauser, Author 