Frequently Asked Questions

Q:  (Question most commonly asked by my son's 6th grade classmates)  Are you going to be rich?

A:  Sorry, but no.  Although he'll probably get a Nintendo Wii out of the deal.

Q:  (Question most commonly asked by my coworkers)  Now that you're published, are you going to quit your job?

A:  Not without lots more book sales or six winning lottery numbers.

Q:  So that means you have a day job?

A:  Yes, I work full-time as a data analyst for an insurance company.  Writing is something I do in my spare time.

Q:  What else do you do in your spare time?

A:  Much of my time is spent at Little League fields or basketball courts cheering on my 12-year-old son along with my husband of nineteen years.  I also enjoy photography, piano, scrapbooking, cooking and gardening, and am currently spending some hours at the gym trying to work off my writer's butt.  What's left over is usually spent reading or watching TV.  I'm a fan of CSI, House, The Daily Show with John Stewart, or anything on The Discovery Channel, HGTV and The Food Network.  (Yes, I have a secret crush on Alton Brown).

Q:  That's a lot of hobbies and interests.  Exactly how long does it take to write a novel?

A:  I don't write continuously, but when I am working on a novel, I can typically write about one 20-page chapter per week, which equates to a finished novel somewhere between 3-4 months.

Q:  Is it hard coming up with ideas?

A:  Not at all.  The hard part is coming up with GOOD ideas.

Q:  Where can I get your books?

A:  During their release month, you can find my books almost anywhere such as Target, Wal-Mart, Waldenbooks, Barnes & Noble, Borders.  Heck, even my local grocery store has an end-cap for Harlequin books.  However, Harlequin is series romance, which means they are distributed similarly to magazines in that each month, a new set of books will replace last months' editions on the shelves.  So if my book is a February, 2007 release, you will only be able to find it in stores during February, 2007.  You can still get it, though.  Through Amazon.com, eHarlequin.com and BarnesandNoble.com, my books can be preordered up to six months prior to the release, and will remain available for quite a long time after the publication date.

Q:  How long did it take you to sell your first novel?

A:  I sold almost two years to the day after I first sat down to write a romance novel.  Private Confessions was my first sale, and it was the third full-length novel I wrote.  The first two have been sent to the writers graveyard after dying a slow and painful death.

Q:  Are you writing under a pseudonym?

A:  Nope.

Q:  Your biography stated you live in Northern California.  Did you grow up there?

A:  No, I was born and raised in Oregon.  I became a transplant Californian when I moved there just out of high school.

Q:  Have you always loved reading romance novels?

A:  Ironically, I'd never read a romance novel until just a few years ago.  My first love had always been horrors, thrillers and suspense, some of my favorite authors being Stephen King, James Patterson, Dean Koontz and John Grisham.  It wasn't until I stumbled on a J. D. Robb book, not realizing that was a pseudonym for Nora Roberts, that I read my first romance novel, and I began wondering where they'd been all my life.  I still enjoy reading a variety of different types of books, and have now added a number of romance writers to my list of favorites, such as Sandra Brown, Lori Foster, Iris Johansen and Kay Hooper.  Some of my favorite series writers can be found on my "Links" page.

Q:  Don't you think romance novels are a little corny?

A:  No.  I think they're a kick.  I mean really, after the pressures of work, raising children, global warming, wars in the Middle East, hurricanes and tsunamis, terrorism and the daily tragedies in the news, call me selfish, but I could use a little fantasy where life turns out right in the end.  All fiction is about escape, whether you're stepping into a world of espionage, a futuristic society, a haunted mansion, or giddy love and romance.  Readers of fiction are all seeking the same thing, and romance is just one of many genres that gives us that.

Q:  What's the best thing about writing novels?

A:  I love to live vicariously through my characters.  They do things I would NEVER do in real life, take risks I'd never dare and throw themselves out on limbs way too shaky for my blood pressure.  I guess in a way, I get to go back and do all those things I never had the guts to do, in the privacy of my own imagination and with the surety of knowing that in the end, everything works out as it should.

Q:  Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

A:  Be prepared to work very hard, and don't let rejection stop you from trying again.  Join writer's groups, seek out feedback then pay attention to what people are telling you.  Read up on the craft, take some classes and workshops if necessary, but bottom-line is to just keep writing.  Some helpful resources can be found on my "Links" page.