Writing a bio about yourself is harder than writing a story! How do you give a brief description of a life that has taken 77 years to take shape? I guess there is enough information in that journey to write another book!

To keep it both brief and current, let's just travel from 1999 and the beginning of my dragon awareness.

I have always loved dragons and recognized their wisdom, but it was not until 1999 that I really felt their energy. This was a wonderful, uplifting discovery which brought me much joy - and prompted the germ of an idea to start growing. This idea sort of hung around for about a year. During that time, I left the States which, together with Canada, had been my home for 45 years. With all my worldly possessions contained in one large suitcase and one spacious carry-on, I returned to England, the place of my birth. I cannot tell you what a wonderful sense of freedom and joy I felt as I looked out into the moonlit night from my airplane window. I was starting a brand new chapter in my life and I was ecstatic.

I spent six wonderful months in Devon and Cornwall before realizing it was time to move on. I picked Lesvos from reading Matt Barrett's wonderful write up on the island, the third largest in Greece. He said they grew many of their own fruits and vegetables, beef, lamb, etc. and it was green all year round! Coming from Denver where winters are brown and drab, that really sold me - and I never regretted that choice.

I stayed there for four years, most of the time on a very tight budget! It was a wonderful learning/growing experience - one for which I shall always be grateful. I met many beautiful, generous friends, most of whom spoke at least some English. Unfortunately, I have absolutely no affinity with the Greek language and never conquered more than a few phrases - but I was great with miming! These friends were lifesavers for me. It was during this time on Lesvos that the story began to take shape.

The reason I thought in terms of a children's story was because I didn't think I could cope with anything else! Little did I realize that children's stories can be every bit as challenging as other kinds of stories.

The story started out as 'The Little Purple Dragon' aimed at about 4 - 7 years. Wherever the ideas were coming from decided that this would not be the case, and very soon it evolved into a more mature story.

I don't do anything that authors are supposed to do. I never had a clue where it was going until I actually sat down to write it. Never had a plan. If I hit a crossroad where I could not decide on the right direction, and realizing how much it would affect the path of the story - I would just go out and wander around the village of Petra, maybe go for a swim, or bump into a friend and have a coffee. Sometimes the break would last for just hours, other times, days, weeks or even months! Then an idea would come to me, and we'd be off to the races again. Definitely not a good example to would-be authors! Some of my most productive ideas awoke me at 3 or 4 in the morning and I would go immediately to my computer and get them down.

After many, many hours of editing and re-writing, the book was eventually basically completed - and I knew it was time to move on again. I returned to my beloved Cornwall - where much further editing and refining were done. I owe a big debt of gratitude to Liz Stolls, who turned me from a storyteller into a writer - and Vanda Inman whose suggestions helped smooth the rough edges and put the final shine on my story. Good friends indeed.

And now, here it is!

Writing this book has been an incredible process for me. My heart has been touched many times by the words expressed on the pages - which leads me to suspect that much of it is reflecting back to me lessons of my own life.

All I can say is - if I come out of this life half as well as Robert Alexander the third, I will have done okay!