 I'm the only girl and the youngest of four, and this created a weird world for me where I didn't quite fit in. When we were young, I wasn't interested in the same things my brothers were, so I became a loner and lived inside my head with the stories I collected. Most of my time was spent outside or reading books. I loved books about animals and adventures, and I would read almost anything that would help me escape the boredom of a small-town country life.