1. I see that you have written poetry and short stories in the past. Did that ever go anywhere for you? Did you find it didn't quite satisfy you as a writer?
I found short story writing to be an incredibly difficult medium. I did love writing poetry, though. So much so that I knew, even if I did manage to become a published poet, I’d need to find a way to support myself. Which is originally why I’d gone into the PhD program for English Lit. And yes, I managed to get a poem or two published in some very small journals back in the day.
Discovering that romance writing was my niche was surprising to me all the time I’d tried to write the stories, the poetry, and even some novels, nothing gelled the way I would have liked. When I wrote romance, it did. So I’ve found my calling.
2. Life changed forever after you had your baby. I think that is a given for most of us with kids, but it sounds like you had quite a time of it. Any advice for new moms and dads who might be going through the same thing?
Ask as many questions as you want, don’t worry about sounding stupid or being labeled difficult. Remember, doctors are people, not gods - (that’s directly from my mother, the nurse). And take things in 24 hour increments. In fact, that’s probably good advice for everyone anything beyond 24 hours in today’s world, where everyone has multiple responsibilities, just becomes too overwhelming.
3. Did you grow up in a military family? It seems like that is usually the case for authors who write books that have a strong military basis.
I didn’t grow up in a military family, although my grandfather was in the Navy. He enlisted when he was just fifteen years old (of course, the Navy didn’t know that!). But I’ve always found military characters fascinating.
4. So, in addition to the Harlequin Blaze coming out this month, you will be putting a book out with Larissa Ione. Is pen-name Sydney Croft a shared one between you? Tell us about the book you two are putting out.
Sydney Croft is our shared pen-name our publisher (Bantam Dell) asked us to come up with one name, and I have to give Larissa complete credit for it. She chose it because it’s a cross between Lara Croft and Sydney Bristow, two kick-ass women. The first book in our trilogy comes out in September 2007, and really, I can’t say it any better than a bit of our fantastic back cover copy:
A storm’s rage. A woman’s desire.
A man with the power to set them both free.
He can summon lightning at will. Emerge unscathed from the center of a tornado. Strip a woman down to her barest defenses through the sheer force of his sexuality. He’s gorgeous, dangerous and the target of parameteorolgist Haley Holmes’s latest mission. Haley has been dispatched to the Louisiana bayou to investigate the phenomenon known as Remy Begnaud a man with a gift he never wanted: the ability to control a storm’s fury. But even a woman trained in bizarre weather phenomenon has no defense against the electrifying power of the ex-Navy SEAL… a power his enemies would kill to control.
5. And, of course, we want to know about COMING UNDONE.
COMING UNDONE is a book I’m really proud of, and I just prayed that readers would fall in love with the story the same way I had. Judging by the wonderful emails from readers, they have!
Here’s the back blurb:
Losing control is the ultimate rush…
Surfer make that ex-surfer Carly Winters can’t believe she accidentally faxed an erotic letter to…a secure military line? Now Navy SEAL Jonathan “Hunt” Huntington is at her door, fax in hand, asking her how the fantasy ends.
Talk about fate…
Because Carly’s parents think Hunt is her new boyfriend, and Carly does need a wedding date ASAP. Hunt’s ready to play only on one condition. Carly’s got to teach him to hang ten. Problem is, it’s been a while since Carly’s career-ending accident and she’s terrified of anything aqua. But with Hunt, letting go just may make her fantasy a reality!
And if I can just interject and mention my next Blaze, RISKING IT ALL, is out this June! The hero is a character who had a walk-on role in COMING UNDONE.
6. What is it like at home when you are writing? Do you like to listen to music or do you need complete quiet? And are you one of those writers who get up in the middle of the night to punch out a page?
I can pretty much write anytime, anywhere, under any circumstances. Loud, quiet, with music and without, you name it, I’ve done it. I do make soundtracks for each book that really helps to focus me on a particular story if needed, since I tend to write on multiple projects at once. And I love getting up in the middle of the night to crank out a page or two when a character tugs my sleeve and gets me out of bed. I’ve always found that anything written under that sleep-like spell is always pretty magical.
7. Who are your character inspirations? Are they strictly born of your imagination or do you find yourself pulling things from real people you know or actors or whatnot?
I always tell people that my characters, especially the heroes, just arrive in my mind. And then they bug me until I find them a heroine and a plot. So really, I’ve got to say they’re always from imagination and I really think, at times, that I channel my characters. There’s one in particular, part of my Bantam SEAL trilogy, who I’ve spoken about several times on my blog. I’ve had three different women write to me privately to tell me that they know a military man with my character’s name and his physical characteristics who grew up in Bayou Country…and they all want to know if I know how to get in touch with him!
8. What is one thing you wish you were asked in an interview and what would be the answer?
Q: How far would you go for your research?
A: If there was a SEAL team backing me, all the way.
