Readers as me a lot of the same questions –
so here’s my best shot at answering the most frequent ones:

Where do you get your ideas?
The Idea Bank. Currently, I’m overdrawn. Seriously, I have way more ideas than time to write the books they generate. I get many ideas from the newspaper (I read four a day and promise you that there’s a story idea on EVERY page and even in some ads), television and just by being a bit of an anthropologist and scrutinizing people. Some of my best books have been the result of casual conversations (Hit Reply was totally inspired by an unnamed friend who had a completely two dimensional email affair with her high school sweetheart) and sometimes I have to just stare at the computer for hours and hope something develops. I also get a lot of story ideas when I’m in the process of researching the premise. When I started digging around for information on French artifacts, the whole idea of the “Pompadour Plums” for French Twist arose from the books I was reading about French porcelain.

Have you always wanted to be a writer?
I’ve always liked to make up stories and I love to write. Combine that with a great typing course I took in tenth grade (I signed up strictly because some boy I liked was taking it), a lot of background in drama and communications as well as a life-long love of reading and romance, and the career seems like a natural fit for me.

What’s your average day like?
A Swedish massage every morning, champagne for lunch and shopping in the afternoon. No, really. I’m a romance writer. In all honesty, I write every single minute that my kids are in school. They leave, I hit my home office to write, edit, revise, proof, or do research. I have marketing and promotional responsibilities every day, but when I’m deep into a book, I tend to get very nasty about anything that pulls me out. In the late afternoon, I do full Mom Duty, including extracurricular activities, homework supervision and endless hours of driving. The very cool thing about my life is this: my husband is retired and he loves to cook. That makes me a very happy woman.

Who are your favorite authors?
I admit it: I cut my teeth on the masters: Judith Krantz, Sydney Sheldon, Jacqueline Susann. Ah, the glory days of big, glitzy novels. As I got older and our culture evolved, I moved into Kathleen Woodiwiss, Sandra Brown and ultimately, Nora Roberts. These writers have all had an influence on my style. Today, I will read ANYTHING by Linda Howard, Jayne Ann Krentz, Julie Garwood and Debbie Macomber. And now I have fantastic writer friends and I want to read everything they write, too. I love the humor of Leslie Kelly and Carly Phillips, the brilliance of Linda Lael Miller and Erica Spindler, the wit of Jennifer Crusie and Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and a new Harlequin author and my close friend, Cami Dalton.

I also try to read outside my genre, including all of the bestsellers, but romance and suspense is always my favorite way to pass an evening.

If you didn’t write, what would you do?
I can barely remember Life Before Writing. I have no idea what I’d do – I suppose I’d still be in PR and advertising, always writing something, even if it is Annual Reports and real estate brochures. I would love my husband to open a restaurant, and if I convinced him to do that, I could be the hostess!

Are there real people in your books?
Trust me, if I’ve met you and you made an impression, you are or will be in one of my books. The names are changed to protect the guilty.

What is a bullet catcher?
A bullet catcher is a slang term for bodyguards. When I was researching bodyguards for Kill Me Twice, the term kept popping up in articles and videos about personal security. I decided it would be a fun name for my fictional, secret firm run by a former CIA agent and staffed by hunky, hot, handsome guys are experts in protection and safety.

How do you do your research?
I usually start with internet searches, buy books on the subject, read newspaper articles, find videos and tapes and then interview some experts. I love research and I would never, ever give the task over to an independent researcher – my very best character traits and story ideas come from the research.

Do you know the villain when you start a book?
Usually, but not always. In Kill Me Twice, I thought it was one person all along and then it turned out to be someone else. No one was more surprised than I was! When it occurred to me, I went back and reviewed every scene and reference to the character and realized that subconsciously, I knew it all along. That is truly the magic that happens at the keyboard.

Are any of your books based on true stories?
Absolutely. My first novel, Tropical Getaway was based on the real loss of a passenger sailing cruise ship, the Fantome, which was part of the Windjammer Barefoot Cruise lines. After the Fantome was lost in Hurricane Mitch, I was part of a small team of damage control experts brought in to manage the influx of horrendous media coverage blaming the company for the loss of the ship. This heartwrenching situation, which included writing the eulogy the CEO had to give for 31 lost crewmen, really left an impression on me. Tropical Getaway opens with a similar loss and the CEO giving the eulogy for his departed crew. From there, of course, I changed the story, the cause of the shipwreck and added a lot of romance and suspense. And, best of all, I gave them a very happy ending.

Have you been to all the exotic places you write about?
I’ve visited many of my settings (St. Barts, Versailles, Newport, Miami Beach, Daytona Beach) but in other cases, I’ve relied on research and interviews with residents and realtors. To quote Nora Roberts on this subject: “I *have* an imagination.” I use it to create fictional settings and imagine what real ones are like.

Who will get the next Bullet Catcher story?
Max Roper, who appeared as a DEA agent in Tropical Getaway and as a bodyguard in Kill Me Twice meets his match in the summer 2006 release entitled Thrill Me To Death. Ever since I wrote Max in 2000, he’s been bothering me for his own story. I’ve teamed him up with a former lover – the one woman who can bring that emotionless mountain of a man to his knees. What fun!

Are there any more McGrath Brothers?
Sorry, but Quinn, Colin and Cameron have all found love, courtesy of Mother Nature in the Earth, Wind & Fire trilogy I did for Silhouette Desire. You can find those books on amazon or in used books stores, as they are officially out of print. But I have more Desires coming up and I promise you’ll love Deuce Monroe and his best friend, Jackson Locke just as much. Watch for Deuce’s story, called The Sins Of His Past, in early 2006 and a follow up (yet untitled) story featuring Jackson Locke early in 2007.

How do you manage the complex plotting?
Valium. Xanax. Kendall Jackson. There are a number of ways to manage a complex plot. Honestly, for my longer books, I use a giant science project board, divided into twenty blocks (for chapters) and four quadrants (for major “acts”) and covered with colored stickies – each representing a scene, a plot point, a point of view and colored according to plot/subplot. Click here for more detailed plotting suggestions.

What’s the difference between category romance and single title romance?
Category romance, or series romance, are books published by Harlequin/Silhouette and released monthly as part of “lines” such as Desire, Intimate Moments, Intrigue, Blaze, Special Edition and Superromance. The books are shorter than most novels and are numbered (hence the notation “series” romance) and available only for one month through major retailers and www.eharlequin.com. A venerable and respected publisher, Harlequin/Silhouette offers a writer like me the chance to reach hundreds of thousands of romance readers through their loyal customer base and book clubs. I write for the Desire line, a popular series of books that are fast-paced, sensual, fun and highly emotional.

“ Single title” is simply an industry term for a commercial mass market paperback (or hardcover) that runs about 100,000 words and is not part of a line or series. The romantic suspense books that I write are considered single title romances and can have a shelf life of well over a year or more; they are sold through most major retailers and all bookstores.

How long does it take you to write a category romance and is it different from writing a longer book?
The time it takes to write a book varies depending on how cooperative the characters are, how complex the plot is, how much research is required and how healthy my kids are. Oh, and last year, I discovered that it can vary based upon how many hurricanes hit the east coast of Florida. I try to write one long romantic suspense and two or three shorter books every year.

What’s it like to write a continuity?
The continuity series I’ve done for Silhouette have been great fun. I have Book Ten in The Ashtons (October, 2005, called The Highest Bidder) and Book Nine in The Elliotts (September, 2006, called The Intern Affair). You have to play well in the sandbox, since a solid continuity involves dozens of characters who are heroes and heroines in other writer’s books – so we are constantly sharing scenes to make sure we’ve portrayed each other’s characters correctly. Writing a continuity is a lot like writing for episodic television: as long as you remember that someone else is in charge of the overall “big picture” story, you can have a lot of fun with the continuing characters and your “episode.”

How did you sell your first book?
This story is different for every writer, but if you ask enough of us, you will start to see a pattern: persistence and tenacity is every bit as important as talent and craft in this business. You know the clichés: believe in yourself, put your BIC (Butt In Chair) and write the very best story you can. Read in your subgenre, enter writing contests, network with other writers, learn the industry, submit, submit, submit and then write another one and do it all over again. That’s just about the only way to do it and it’s exactly how it happened for me.

Where do you live?
I live on the east coast of Florida in a fairly small town. I have lived in Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Boston, and Miami and dream of retiring to the wine country someday to eat, drink and write into my golden years.

How many children do you have?
I have two pre-teenagers and a brand new puppy, but I don’t ever publish their pictures on the internet for obvious security reasons. Trust me when I say they are gorgeous, brilliant, delightful, obedient, polite and perfect. But remember that I write fiction.

Does your husband read your books?
He does – usually before I send them to my editors. He’s an excellent proofreader and has helped me enormously with various technical issues and anything related to food. He’s my first and favorite reader – if I can make him teary-eyed, I know I’ve done my job.

Is your personal life as exciting as the heroines you write about?
In a word, no. If you’re asking if my sex life is anything like my love scenes then I’ll have to remind you that I kill people in my books too…I don’t have to DO something to imagine what it’s like.

To what do you attribute your success?
My father instilled in me an amazing work ethic, self-confidence, a sense of humor, and a thick skin. My mother gave me the love of words and writing, and never let me use the word “interesting” in a book report. My sister encouraged me to turn my bedtime stories into books. All three of my brothers are published authors and convinced me that mere mortals can write and sell books. My husband agreed that I should walk away from a lucrative PR career to pursue a not-so-lucrative dream because he knew I’d make it. My children tell strangers that “mommy writes books” and then invite them to my local booksignings.

In a word, my family is at the root of any and all success.