When I was a child I used to read books by Gerald Durrell who founded Jersey Zoo. He had a job collecting animals for zoos and for a long time that is what I wanted to do. Later when I was a teenager I had a fantastic English teacher called Mrs. Stafford. Her enthusiasm made me decide to be a writer.
Mom was the one who taught me unconditional love. With Dad I'd always felt there was something to live up to - expectations. But in the last year we had a wonderful relationship.