Why do you enjoy reading and writing romance?

In a good love story, the reader gets to witness that initial bloom of feeling between a man and a woman and follow them along the not always smooth path to a life together. When it's done well, I'm hooked as a reader. I enjoy writing about relationships. It is certainly one of the most complicated and interesting parts of our lives.

What do you find appealing about writing contemporary romance?

I like stories set in today's modern world, probably because I can identify with the stumbling blocks our characters come up against. As a writer, I'm able to better understand my characters if I have lived some facet of what they are facing.

What characteristics do you like to give your contemporary heroes?

I am drawn to intelligent men with principles. A man who knows what he stands for appeals to me as a woman and as a writer. And as I've said before, nice shoulders are a plus.  I'd like to think these qualities show up in my heroes.

Your book, John Riley's Girl, was winner of the 2005 RITA Award - Best Long Contemporary! Share with us how you received the news and how you felt.

I received the award at the RWA National Annual Conference in Reno, Nevada in July. RWA hosts an incredible ceremony on the Saturday evening of the conference. Everyone dresses up, and it's a lot of fun since my regular writing attire is fairly casual to say the least!

Winning the RITA Award meant a great deal to me for many reasons. When I had difficulty selling my second and third books, I began to wonder if I had what it took to make it as a writer. By the time I finally sold that second book, I was experiencing all the symptoms of burnout. I no longer believed in my own ability and woke up one day to the realization that I simply could no longer write. It was an extremely dark time in my life, and I walked away from writing under the assumption that it would never again be a part of me.

After a two-year period of burnout, a real desire to write began to trickle back, until I finally got up the courage to pull out my laptop and begin a story. I wrote the complete book the same way I had written my first published novel. Told the story as I saw it without letting anyone else inside my vision. That book was John Riley’s Girl, and I am so grateful for the fact that it was recognized by such a special award.

Tell us about your upcoming release, A Year and a Day.

In A Year and a Day, Audrey Colby is a woman who took a wrong turn early on in her life. Ignored that little voice of question that bid a second look. We’ve all done it. It’s just that some bad decisions put us in worse places than others.

Like most of the choices we make, the picture isn’t black and white. Audrey has a son whom she loves heart and soul. And she’s determined to give him the life he deserves, a life free of the awful things he’s seen from his father.

I once heard someone living in a difficult situation asked why she stayed, why she didn’t leave. Her answer? "At least, this devil I know."

That’s the tough part. Prying ourselves out of the familiar, even when it’s bad, and flinging ourselves into the unknown. This is exactly what Audrey does because she can no longer accept the life she is living.

Also, please share what do you like about your heroine?

I admire Audrey’s courage. I think one of the hardest things in life is to admit we've made a bad choice. Maybe the next hardest thing is finding the courage to change it.

Please talk about any upcoming projects. Do you take any time "to take a breather" between novels, or do you jump right into the next project?

My next release is a novella for a Signature Select Anthology called From Here to Maternity in April 2006. My story is called On Angel's Wings. It is about a couple shattered by the loss of their daughter who open their home to an orphaned Russian girl. As guilt and grief war with the need to love a child again, Sasha girl offers them healing and hope.

A Gift of Grace will be released in June 2006. This is a story about a woman who adopts an infant girl only to discover three years later that the husband of the woman who gave birth to the child wants her back.

As for taking a breather, writing is such a part of me that I'm always working on something. I reach these points where I think, okay, I need a vacation. In theory, this sounds so appealing, me sitting on a beach with absolutely nothing to do. In reality, usually by the third day, I have the laptop out and am at least tinkering with another story.

The positive part of this is that I really love what I do. I think that's a wonderful thing to be able to say.

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