Readers Ask...

How do you write sexy love scenes and what does your husband think about them?

To write a sensuous love scene, you have to make yourself forget about the people who might eventually read it. In the past few years I have become much better at doing what I feel is right for the book, instead of worrying about what people will think of certain scenes. In a way, I have to trust the reader as much as she trusts me. When I write about two people having sex, it is inevitable that some of my feelings and fantasies will play a part in that scene . . . and as long as the intimate encounter is written in the context of a loving, respectful and committed relationship, I see absolutely nothing wrong in that. My husband Greg is a very private person, but at the same time, he wants me to feel free to express myself. So even though he doesn't usually choose to read my books (I'm guessing that it must be a strange experience to have your wife publishing her sexual fantasies) he has never been anything but supportive and positive about my career. My mother, on the other hand, who is an avid romance reader, reads everything I write and often encourages me to turn up the heat!

Why did you start writing romance novels? What did you do before that?

I have always loved them. I started reading Barbara Cartland novels when I was thirteen, and as I got older, I graduated into the bigger historicals. I distinctly remember when the price of a full-length historical romance was two dollars, and how horrified I was when it went up to two dollars and twenty-five cents. I love the magic, the deep emotion, and the happy endings of romance novels. My first novel was sold when I was twenty-one, and so I have never really had a job other than writing. I never take it for granted, being able to get paid for doing the work I love most in the world.

Where do you get your ideas?

From everywhere. I have hundreds of history books and biographies, and I am a news junkie. Also love to listen to my friends gossip (even though they won't let me take notes *g*). Like most writers, I am occasionally seized by an idea that won't let go of me, so I am seldom lacking for plots. However, when I do have to force an idea from somewhere, I sometimes try to take a standard romance idea and twist it in some way. For example, when I was plotting Suddenly You, I knew that I wanted to try writing an older woman/younger man story, and I specifically did not want the heroine to have a very maternal role in the relationship (I've read some in the past that seemed rather icky in that way, if you know what I mean). What I did want was for the younger man to have a lot of masculine vitality, to bring a certain freshness to the heroine's life and perhaps show her a new side of herself. It was hard to think of how to start the book, until I reflected on the number of novels I've read in the past in which the heroine is mistaken for a prostitute by the hero. So I switched the roles, and had my heroine mistake the hero for a prostitute. It is really fun to take a conventional plot element and turn it upside down.

How do you stay in shape while writing?

I don't.

When is your next book going to be published?  What is it about?

Please look at the Sneak Previews page.

What are the titles of the Bow Street Runner trilogy?

The books in this trilogy, about the dashing Bow Street Runners who were early Victorian-era detectives, are as follows: Someone To Watch Over Me, Lady Sophia's Lover, and Worth Any Price.

Will your old NAL books ever be republished?

Unfortunately I don't think so. These four books, which you may be able to find at used book stores, were written when I was my early twenties. My style has changed so much since then that I don't think it would be of much benefit to my readers for them to be reissued.

What is your writing schedule?

Whatever my children decide. I am naturally a night-owl, but since sleeping late is never an option in my household, and I want to spend as much time as possible with my husband and two small children, I've had to force myself to adapt to working in the daytime. I would love to write nine to five, but since my youngest isn't in school yet, I often have to wake up at four in the morning to get a lot done before she wakes up. Once you get used to it, working at this hour in the morning is remarkably productive . . . no telephone, no distractions or interruptions--and the entire pot of coffee is mine, all mine!