1.
When did you first realize you wanted to become a
writer and why? Oh, I was only five
years old when the writing bug bit me. My father had read a Little Golden Book
to me, and I loved it so much I decided to write my own book using the same
characters. My dad wrote it in pencil on notebook paper. It was a great story.
It must have been because he laughed the entire time he read it. He kept it always, and after he died my
stepmother gave it to me. It’s now one of my greatest treasures.
2.
Describe your favourite place to write? Until I get my
study renovated, my favorite place to write is my recliner. My husband bought
me a tiny desk whose top swings over my legs, so I sit in my recliner and write
in comfort. We’re tackling the study renovation this summer, and how I do dread
it!
3.
What would I find on your desk at this very moment? A
printer and computer, two stuffed frogs holding a balloon my husband gave me
for Valentine’s Day, a blue, crystal rabbit we bought at an antique store when
we were in Charleston, SC, and a graduation program from my granddaughter’s
college graduation.
4.
What is your tea/coffee beverage of choice when you’re
writing? Water. Very cold water.
5.
What do you love to read? LOL. Almost anything, but I’m not especially
fond of erotica, biographies, or books where children get hurt or kidnapped.
6.
What is some good advice you can give to an emerging
writer? Just don’t quit. Take workshops to learn what you can do to improve,
and keep submitting.
7.
What do you do after you finish a book? Do you
celebrate or take a nap? I feel sad so the nap would be the better choice. I’ve
lived with my characters for months and months. I’ve gotten into their minds
and endured lots of trouble with them, and now they’re gone. No, I don’t
celebrate losing them, not even if I have something else ready to start.
8.
You have written a contemporary romance for Lachesis,
tell us about it? The book is called Her
Kind of Man, and you really do need to see the cover. It’s very…impressive. Here’s
the blurb about the book, and may I say that the secret referred to in the
blurb is something Kara never saw coming, something devastating. Here’s a link to a link to a You Tube video I
made for the book. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RztCKKop8OM
Blurb:
Is it possible she’s finally found her kind
of man?
Ross Williams has been in love with Kara
Cochrane since they were kids, so when Kara’s fiancé Brandon Miles cheats on
her and calls off their wedding—Ross steps in to rescue the damsel in distress.
A heartbroken Kara just wants to get on
with her life and hunky Ross provides her with a definite distraction—that is
until she starts falling for him. Big time.
But a devastating family secret threatens to
destroy everything that Kara holds dear—including her relationship with Ross.
9.
What do you enjoy about writing romance novels? I think that first of all, they give people
hope. Most folks are fighting some kind
of battle in their lives. Maybe they’re
in a relationship that went bad, and they’ve lost the one they love. Whether it was by divorce, death, or just
walking away, it tears a huge hole in someone’s heart. Maybe the problem is health-related. Someone has to accept that there are now
limitations placed on them. Have you
ever dealt with unemployment? How do you
feed your children with no paycheck? My
romances always have a happy ending which gives us hope that tomorrow things
will be better. We can believe that
‘this too shall pass.’
Remember what happened at the end of Gone
With the Wind? Scarlett lost Rhett and
collapsed in tears, but then she decided to go home to Tara where she can think
of a way to get Rhett back. Human beings
are designed to hope.
I also think that romances possibly
satisfy our craving for justice. In the
real world, things don’t always end happily.
Children are abused, the missing teen is never found, or our possessions
are stolen. In the vast majority of
romances you know the bad guys are going to get what’s coming to them. My heroes and heroines sometimes face
determined villains, but you can rest easy in the knowledge that the bad guys
will never win.
Last, I write
romance because I’m a romantic at heart.
I just adore a good love story.
10. What
are you working on next? Right now I'm almost finished with an unnamed women's fiction novel, and I'm editing an older book that I just never got around to submitting. I share excerpts from my work every Saturday and Sunday right her at my blog. I hope you'll stop by sometime and check them out.
