Q. When did you know you wanted to be a writer and what inspired you?  
A. To be perfectly honest, I never, ever dreamed I could be a writer! Although I love to read and have since I was little, I didn't try my hand at writing until recently. My best friend, Robin, e-mailed me a funny story and I wanted to answer her with a short response. She never did get a response that day, but ten months later, I mailed her the manuscript for A World Apart! Once I started to write, the ideas kept coming, I kept writing, and a passion was born. The lesson to be learned from this...you never know what you can do until you try!  
      
Q. How do you get ideas for stories?  
A. All my ideas come from my lifelong friendship with Robin and our childhood pranks and adventures. That, coupled with my love of science fiction, is the framework for my books.  
     
Q. How long does it take you to complete a book?  
A. My first book, A World Apart, took ten months to write (and a year to edit!). I have been working on my second book (a sequel to A World Apart, and as yet un-named) for about six months and it is halfway done. Hopefully, it will be finished shortly.  
     
Q. Did you have any role models as a child and who were they?  
A. When I was a child, I wanted more than anything to be a singer. In college, I was a music education major, with a major in singing. Barbra Streisand has always been my idol. She has done everything from singing, to acting, to directing:…and she does it with perfection. As for writing, I have always been in awe of Ayn Rand. I have many favorite books, but Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead are on the top of the list.  
     
Q. Do you have any advice for kids who want to write or illustrate? 
A. Write about what you know and what you are passionate about. If you write from the heart, you can never go wrong.  
     
Q. Do you have any pets or a favorite animal?  
A. If I could, I would surround myself with pets, but since I live in a small townhouse, that is not possible. For now, I have one dog, a terrier mix that we got from a local shelter. Her real name is Jazz, but my son and I call her "Monstergirl." Trust me, she lives up to it! She's a real wackadoodle, but she makes me smile and that is worth her weight in gold and then some. When I come home, she greets me with her tail wagging, and a ball in her mouth, ready to play. At night, she crawls under the covers with me, and in the morning, she greets me as if she hasn't seen me in years. She's twenty-five pounds of pure love and mischief!  
      
Q. What are your hobbies? 
A. Of course, I love to read and I always have a book with me. I also enjoy collecting and working with beads. Creating necklaces for friends and relatives (and myself!) gives me a great sense of accomplishment. But above all, I love horseback riding, and someday, I hope to have a horse of my own. 
 
Click here to visit Doreen D. Berger's website 

Below is a list of Doreen D. Berger books:

A World Apart

All of these books can be purchased at amazon.com