My name’s origin is Greek, from mythology. Sibylle was Paris’s sister, the one who told him that the Helen of Troy situation wouldn’t turn out well, whereupon he promptly cut off her head. Sibylline is an actual word: it means “prophetic.” Imagine my surprise when it came up as one of the test words on freerice.com. Incidentally, the correct spelling is Sibylle Barrasso. However, even my friends misspell my name, most often Sybille Barrasso, also Sibyelle Barrasso, Sibyl Barrasso, Sibylla Barraso, and even Sybille Barosso.

I should probably write under a pseudonym, but since I was born under the most indecisive sign in the Zodiac, I can’t seem to make up my mind...what pen name to use? So many choices. Any suggestions?

Where do you get your ideas?

Everywhere: dreams, things I see on TV, read in the paper or in a book, events I witness, but most often from conversations I have. I’m forever asking people: “can I use that in my next book?” I’m always surprised when they tell me to “go ahead.”

Also, I interview people as part of my on-going research.

When do you write?

Usually early in the morning. I usually get up at five o’clock. That’s when I write. I edit after dinner.

What advice can you give to an aspiring writer?

I’ve given that one a lot of thought ... so much so that I decided to devote my March blog to this very topic.

Tell me something I don’t know...

You probably didn’t know that I speak a bunch of foreign languages. Speaking other languages was a survival technique. One has to be able to order food and find one’s way to the bathroom, not to mention hold down a job. I worked on foreign soil for many years, all over Europe and in Brazil.