Interview with Amazon.com
 

Amazon.com: Where are you from? How, if at all, has your sense of place
colored your writing?

I’m originally from Long Island, New York, but now live in Atlanta. Talk about two different places with different paces of living! I try to convince everyone I’m a Georgia peach, but my ‘Noo Yawk’ accent gives me away every time! So far all my historical novels have been set in Regency England—not much help from New York or Atlanta there! My contemporary romance (KISS THE COOK, Kensington, May 2000) is set in Atlanta. Hmmm...I guess I’ll have to write a Long Island book just to keep things even!

Amazon.com: When and why did you begin writing? When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I’ve always loved writing. I even enjoyed doing those dry term papers you have to crank out by the hundreds in college. I began writing romance because I love the genre. I love happy endings and people fighting the odds and overcoming obstacles to be together. The stories were inside me and had to come out. I began "seriously" writing—and by that I mean with my eye toward publication—when we bought our first computer in the early ‘90’s. From that point on I considered myself a writer. The act of writing makes you a writer—not whether or not you’re published. If you’re writing, you’re a writer.

Amazon.com: Who or what has influenced your writing, and in what way? What books have most influenced your life?

My parents influenced me greatly because they instilled a love of reading in me. I cannot recall a time when my mom and dad didn’t have a book or magazine close at hand. And my sister, who supplied me with endless Nancy Drew books! My husband and son greatly influence me by providing me with endless support and inspiration. I believe that every book I read influences me in some way. I cannot recall one that didn’t teach me something. I love Dickens and Austen and Shakespeare.

Amazon.com: What is the most romantic book you’ve ever read? The scariest? The funniest?

I’ve read so many romances, it’s impossible to pick the most romantic, but I very much enjoy the Eve Dallas series by J.D. Robb. Even though these are hard-edged stories, I love the evolving romance between Eve and Roarke. He just loves her SO much—it gives me chills! The scariest book has to be Rebecca. I read it when I was 13--my first ‘grown up’ book. It was fabulous, but it gave me the willies! I’m not much on scary books (insert clucking chicken noises here!) The funniest I’ve read are the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. I’ve never laughed so hard reading anything! I also love the Far Side books by Gary Larson. Although you didn’t ask, my favorite book of all time is The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy. I met Mr. Conroy at a booksigning when Beach Music came. There I was, totally awestruck, staring down at the top of his head while he signed my book, and what does he do? He SPOKE to me! He looked up and asked me what I did for a living! Who the heck knows? I’m lucky I remained standing and didn’t faint all over him. Good grief, he wasn’t supposed to TALK to me! I was so flustered I couldn’t form a coherent sentence. My one brush with greatness, and for the first time in my life, I was speechless. Sheesh!

Amazon.com: What music, if any, most inspires you to write? What do you like to listen to while writing?

Love songs inspire me, and I listen to them in the car, keeping my trusty notebook handy in case inspiration strikes. I don’t listen to music when I write. I need silence to think. Even the cat knows not to purr when she’s in my office.

Amazon.com: What are you reading now? What CD is currently in your stereo?

Right now I’m reading River’s End by Nora Roberts, and as always, she grabbed me on the first page and hasn’t let go. The CD currently in the stereo is Ricky Martin’s Livin’ the Vida Loca. Now there’s a man who’s an inspiration to a romance writer! Viva La Salsa!