My readers have been the guiding force in my career from the very beginning.  Their comments and feedback have led me down paths I would never have taken on my own.  A good example of this is the Blossom Street series.  When I wrote The Shop on Blossom Street I never intended it to be a series.  It was written as a stand-alone book.  The feedback I got on the novel was strong and immediate.  My readers wanted to learn more about Lydia and Brad and the other characters they’d met in that story, especially Alix.  It was because of the notes and letters I received that I wrote the follow up book, A Good Yarn, which turned out to be my first hardcover to place on the New York Times bestseller list.  When people ask me what inspired the Blossom Street series, I smile and explain it was my readers.