"I was a great reader of science fiction as a young person, but I began to wonder why the protagonist in a sci-fi or fantasy story was always a man, even when the writer was female. Where were the stories that presented a woman as the problem solver?

I was encouraged to write a story that was unique and built on my own struggles. I thought a sci-fi story with a girl as the protagonist might be fun. A real heroine cannot call on armies to follow her, or pay assassins for special work. She may have children already, so adventure is out of the question, and family must be secure before she can enter the public square where she has no voice.

So how does a story shape if the young hero must solve problems that girls experience in ways that females address problems? I could find no books that started with this premise, so I had to write some. And that was my first reason to write."