And our Sue's Clues Mystery Author is:

Many of you may remember the first time Pamela Clare was our Mystery Author. ( Click here to read her first interview ) At that time, she was very new to romance readers but making a big impression on historical fans.

For myself, I thought I had hit the jackpot. Marsha Canham was working on retirement and I didn't know how that void was going to be filled. Pamela is the closest thing I found to her at that time, and since. Her novels are well-researched and well-written. The plots are intricate and unpredictable.

You can count on lots of action in a Pamela Clare novel—in more ways than one. If there is a battle, she's not shy about details, but not in such a way that you are repulsed. You are holding your breath, though, and maybe reading a little faster. In a bedroom scene, or wherever it may be taking place, you'll have the same reaction.

She has since ventured into the world of contemporary romance, gaining even more fans. Her attention to detail is obvious here, as well. Even I can't help but like her contemps. Pamela has something for everyone. If you haven't experienced a novel she's written, you need to.

If you'd like to learn more about our Mystery Author, read on to the interview below. Then visit her website: www.pamelaclare.com

1. You've been busy—a new contemp and a novella coming out. Tell us a little about them?

I'm very excited about them both. The novella, titled HEAVEN CAN'T WAIT, will be out in June as part of a chick-lit-ish anthology titled CATCH OF THE DAY. Readers who enjoyed Kara and Reece's story in EXTREME EXPOSURE will be happy to see them and the rest of the folks at the Denver Independent as they get together for the wedding of one of their own. HEAVEN CAN'T WAIT tells the story of Lissy Charteris, journalist, and Will Fraser, former football star turned commentator (not featured in EXTREME EXPOSURE), who make a bet to see who can last until their wedding night without asking for sex. If Lissy gives in and asks for sex first, she has to wear the risqué wedding gown Will loves so much. If Will gives in first, he and his groomsmen have to wear the mauve cummerbunds Lissy adores. Naturally, they both want the other one to give in first. And thus starts a game of seduction that lasts until their wedding day.

HEAVEN CAN'T WAIT is the lightest, funniest thing I've ever written, and I have to say writing it was a blast.

HARD EVIDENCE is the sequel to EXTREME EXPOSURE and again features the cast at the Denver Independent, this time to tell Tessa's story. Kara and Reece are featured prominently in the story, as are Sophie and (horny) Holly.

HARD EVIDENCE is a full-length romantic suspense that I finished two weeks ago (sigh!). The story opens when Tessa Novak witnesses the murder of a teenager girl and sees a man in a black leather jacket near the scene. Mistaking him for the killer, she goes after him in print. But that man is Julian Darcangelo, an undercover special agent, who doesn't appreciate nearly having his description in the newspaper.

Tessa's reporting also draws the attention of the real killers, who target her as their next victim. Unwilling to let her become collateral damage, Julian risks his assignment to protect her. Though they try to keep their relationship professional, the physical intensity heats up, as does the threat from a ruthless human trafficker who wants to see both of them dead.

That's the gist.

It's a pretty intense and romantic story set in the Denver area where I've worked as an investigative reporter for 13 years or so and draws upon some of my own experiences in journalism.

2. I don't recall any of your books being exactly short. Did you find it challenging to write a novella, considering the restriction you would have on length?

Haha! This question made me laugh. Yes, my books tend NOT to be short.

HEAVEN CAN'T WAIT fell into my head in one chunk and fit perfectly into the much smaller word limit. Again, I pushed it to the max, but it fit without my having to hack it apart or rewrite anything.

3. I just loved SURRENDER. What kind of research did you do for it? I happened to be reading it when a special aired on the French-Indian wars (PBS?). I remember thinking you must have really done your homework the way your story was meshing with the special?

I studied the French & Indian War (the war depicted in LAST OF THE MOHICANS) pretty intensely to write RIDE THE FIRE. RIDE THE FIRE is set after the close of the French & Indian War, but to understand that time period, I felt I had to understand the tumultuous years prior to the year in which my story was set. (What can I say? I'm a history geek.)

It's during that research that the kernel for the MacKinnon's Rangers trilogy that starts with SURRENDER popped into my head. I read many references to the Colonial Rangers and the important role they played in Great Britain's victory and wanted to know more about them. So I read the diaries of Major Robert Rogers, the most famous of all the Rangers, in addition to other histories of the period and newspaper articles from the day, which I found hilarious from a journalist's point of view. They had no notions of objectivity back then and pretty much wrote whatever they wanted to write.

I tweaked the research to give it a Scottish feel and came up with Iain MacKinnon and his brothers, Morgan and Connor. Forced to fight for the British, they come across a young woman fighting for her life against a band of French soldiers and Abenaki. Iain decides to disobey orders to save her life.

4. However, I don't recall anything like MacKinnon's Rangers being mentioned. Are the Rangers your own creation or was there actually a similar regiment during that war?

There were many companies of Rangers, most assigned to a British commander.Some taught British Regulars how to fight "Colonial style." Basically, the Ranger Corps was made up of men who'd grown up on the frontier and knew how to survive on the land. They knew the forests, the plants, the rivers. They understood Indian languages and were able to track and fight like the Indians fought.

The Rangers were the elite special forces of their own time, taking missions that no other soldiers stood a chance of surviving. They managed things that would be hard for our Rangers (who are their military descendents) to duplicate today, even with our technology. I find men like this -- men capable of surviving against great odds, who know how to fight and know how to win -- extremely sexy.

Think of the MacKinnon's Rangers series as a Special Forces-type story blended with a Scottish historical.

5. It's been about two years, I believe, since our last interview. What's new? Are you still working as a journalist? Or are you officially a full-time novelist?

I wish I were working as a full-time novelist!!! I've been fortunate enough to spend most of the past couple of years working part-time, but I still have responsibility for a newsroom and the weekly production of a newspaper.The combination of being the head of a household, running a newsroom and writing two books a year (plus the odd novella) is extremely stressful. Some days I think I'm going to scream or pull my hair out, but I manage to keep going, in part because of the support of family and friends.

Also, I love my characters and once I'm drawn into a story, I can't let it go until I'm done, no matter what. Work at the paper has had some rough spots lately (highlighted by a guy with a gun coming into shout in my face),but I've managed to get the books done.

6. The boys must be in high school now? What new challenges as a single mom?

My oldest has started college. (GASP!) I'm always terrified when I know he's on the highway. I make him text message me every time he makes a pit stop. My youngest is a high school sophomore. I know a lot of parents have difficulties when their kids reach the teenage years, but those have been the easiest for me. I was a very, very naughty teenager, and my kids are not. (Odd, isn't it?)

They're helpful, courteous, thoughtful, and so on. They get great grades. The oldest is an Eagle Scout. My youngest is in the International Baccalaureate Program and has a 4.38 GPA (whatever). He cleans my house, makes half the meals, takes care of the yard work and even does weird things like spontaneously clean my garage. I never have to get on their cases about homework or messy rooms or any of the typical teenage stuff.

Okay, that probably sounds like bragging. But I'm truly wondrously lucky and I know it. I adore my sons to the ends of the earth and tell them that a hundred times a day. Being a single mom is such a huge challenge, but these boys are awesome.

Take a break and skip class, I say. No, they say. Get your ears pierced and dye your hair blue, I say. No, they say. Take the GED and test out of high school so you can travel Europe like a vagabond, I say. No, they say. (Personally, I seriously believe boys have got to be easier as teenagers than girls *G*)

Amen to that. I chaperoned an event not long ago, and the girls nearly drove me nuts with all their incessant SQUEALING and sneaking. Sneaking boys here. Sneaking boys there. I had bad news for them: "Been there, done that! Amateurs!"

7. I understand RIDE THE FIRE is a finalist for the RIO Award of Excellence for Long Historical. Congratulations! In my opinion, the nomination is a no-brainer. Even so, it must be very exciting for you?


Thanks for your very sweet words. RIDE THE FIRE is special to me, so it was a huge treat to see it remembered at the end of the year as a RIO finalist. Ultimately, another book won top honors, but it was wonderful to make that short list, particularly as RIDE THE FIRE got bumped from the RITA contest due to the number of entrants.

8. Readers, not all but in general, often think that authors have an easy, cushy job. Write the book, rake in the bucks. No boss, set your own hours. What do you think is the biggest misconception(s) about your profession?

People think writing is easy, that we just sit down and spit these books out. It's not. It's the hardest thing I know. I've been a writer all my life, and writing fiction is challenging on the deepest levels. Just finishing a story takes a supreme amount of discipline, dedication and a crazy rush of faith. Why would anyone want to read YOUR story, after all?

Also, writers don't get rich overnight. Most of them NEVER earn a full living off their writing. Those who don't have a spouse to support them work very hard at both writing and a day job, crafting stories that come from inside them, hoping their readers will enjoy what they've created. Nowadays, much of the marketing falls to writers. So not only do you have to be a writer, you have to be an advertising agency. Because marketing costs money, you also have to be a banker. And a computer and Internet expert.

What astonishes me about fiction writing as a career is how much time authors have to spend worrying about things like marketing, web sites, brand name, market trends, etc. Most of us just want to focus on the writing. We became authors because we love to write, not because we wanted to be business people.

We love the words because deep in our hearts all authors are first and foremost readers.

Thanks, Pamela! Visit Pamela at her website: http://www.pamelaclare.com/index.htm
and at her cameo page: http://www.romantictimes.com/index.html?/data/authors/11897.html