Tell us about your background and your life growing up. What do you miss the most about your childhood?
First of all, let me say how happy I am to be with you and your readers. Thanks for having me! So, I grew up as a Navy brat. We didn’t move as much as some people think of as Navy life—often every two years or so. My dad was stationed in California, then we went to Philadelphia for training, and then back to California. We moved to Virginia Beach when I was in third grade and stayed there until the summer between my junior and senior year.
ARGGHHHH! We packed up and moved to Orlando for my senior year of high school. I begged to be allowed to stay in Virginia to graduate, but Dad said, no. You’re my daughter and where your mom and I go you go. But you know what? It wasn’t bad at all, and I went back to Virginia for college. Just a note—Orlando wasn’t the fun place people associate it with now. This was before Disneyworld or Universal Studios or any of the attractions someone visiting the area would see now. It was pretty much a quiet place in hot, humid Florida.
While in eighth grade in Virginia Beach, I met the man I’d start dating a couple of years later and marry seven years after that. It was a miracle! And we’re still together, for which I’m immensely grateful
When was the first time you put pen to paper and wrote something meaningful? Did you ever publish it?
I tried writing a mystery story in fifth grade and ended up scaring myself to death, lol. I decided then that writing wasn’t my destiny. But many years later I found myself with time on my hands and a husband who suggested I use the time to “write that story you’ve been talking about for so long.” I did have an idea—a loose idea—for a romance, rattling around in my head but I’d never considered committing it to paper. I kinda shrugged and said sure, that sounds like fun. A month later I had all 95,000 words down. I searched on the Internet for a publisher and chose five places to send it. Keep in mind, I had no idea what I was doing, either as a writer or in trying to get the work published. But I found Liquid Silver Books (sadly, no longer in business), and they read my manuscript. The owner wrote back and said she liked my writing style but that my story didn’t have enough sex, since they published erotic romance. I’d never heard of erotic romance, but I figured anyone could write sex, so I wrote another 95,000-word book and sent it back. That book was Impatient Passion and suddenly I was an erotic romance author. Who knew??
Have you ever been moved to tears by a story that someone else wrote? If so, what was it called and what was it about?
Oh gosh yes! I’m very emotional. Of course, can I remember one now?? Let’s see. This is going to sound strange maybe, but I cried during Origin of Pietas. Kayelle Allen has such command of writing emotion that she can wrench the heart right out of the reader, and that’s what she does with the two characters. Pietas and the human who becomes known as Six are the most mismatched pair ever, but during their light-years trip alone and through space, they have no choice but to explore who the other is. Their developing friendship in The Origin of Pietas is phenomenal. Really, the whole Origin of Chaos series is just mind blowing. I’m pretty sure I cried at the end of Perilous Love by Jan Selbourne. Such a good love story—and between a husband and wife! Gabrielle and Adrian think they have grown too far apart to have feelings for one another until they are trapped in Belgium at the beginning of World War I. The book is a thriller while also being a love story. It’s great!
How supportive is your family when it comes to your writing? Do they contribute to your stories in any way?
Um…except for hubby, who is very supportive, no. I had written four books before I let my mom know that I was writing and what I was writing. She loves to read so she appreciated that I’d written a book, but she’s more the classic Harlequin reader and does not enjoy the sex scenes that I write. Actually, no one else in my family even reads romances, and they don’t buy my books or talk to me about them. I have a couple of friends who have purchased books, but we don’t talk about stories. For the most part, the people we usually have as friends aren’t the ones who would discuss writing. Don’t know why, exactly.
What kind of stories are there in The Good Man Series?
Oh, thanks for asking! The stories are focused on the Goodman brothers, triplets born and raised in western North Carolina by parents who loved them but had never gotten around to getting married. In addition, their mother had been a stripper in her younger years—a famous one—and their dad spent time in the slammer for embezzling from the bank where he worked. The couple was so loved by the town that they were welcomed back when Dad got out of prison. But life around the other kids wasn’t always easy. Daniel, a determined scholar, escaped into his schoolbooks and thoughts of leaving town and fulfilling his dream of academic achievement. Jonah broke up with his high school girlfriend and dropped out of school only to become a sought-after mechanic for NASCAR teams years later. And Mark was so smart and his head so in the esoteric that he might not have even noticed taunts and bullying. Daniel’s is the first book, Only a Good Man Will Do. He’s within reach of his dream—becoming headmaster of the most prestigious, straight-laced boys’ prep school on the east coast—when two things happen: his parents decide to get married, and they’re doing it on national television, and he meets Eve Star, a retired exotic dancer who has lied to get her son in Westover Academy, where Daniel teaches. Right there are two chances for everything he’d worked and planned for to fall apart.
In One Woman Only, Jonah comes home for his parents’ wedding knowing he’ll see his former girlfriend for the first time in eighteen years. The spark’s still there but he faces an uphill battle trying to get Kelly Shepherd to give him a second chance.
Mark’s book, With Only the Heart, is in process right now. He holds a very important position at a financial institution in Richmond, Virginia. He goes into work early to discover the cleaning woman vacuuming his office. Only…no cleaning people are supposed to be in his office, and why had the startled woman hastily dropped papers back to his desk? Janice Morrison isn’t cleaning, she’s trying to clean up, and in a very illegal way. But will Mark even notice? A fun note. I hadn’t planned to have the word only in each title. Hubby said I should have named the series that, then I could say I wrote the Only series. Lol!
What are some new themes and ideas you explore in your book "Passionate Destiny"?
Passionate Destiny is all about believing in the impossible. Do ghosts exist or not? Can they lead you to love and help you discover your destiny, or are those bumps in the night merely your imagination? In Passionate Destiny, I poke a little at feminism.
The heroine is Margaret Amis-Hollings, a professor of women’s studies. She’s such a snob and so consumed by the idea of women doing and being everything a man can do and be, that she misses the little happy points in life. She has a lot to learn, and a certain Virginia professor of physics is just the man to teach her when she moves from New Jersey to Virginia where she inherited a very old, very haunted house.
I based Margaret on my boss where I worked in New Jersey. I loved that guy! He was a marshmallow inside, but he had an abrasive, New Yorker attitude at times. That was Margaret, down to a T!
How did you begin writing the first book, "Only A Good Man Will Do" in The Good Man Book series?
Many years ago, while still writing for Liquid Silver, one of my author friends and I thought it would be fun to write a book together. I would write one chapter and she would write the next, having our characters interact as we went along. We decided to have twins—Daniel and Jonah. We got quite a ways into the book before life and other deadlines interfered, and the stories sat dormant for years. A couple of years ago, I asked her if I could use them to build a new series and she said sure. I used only the barest of the original’s detail for Jonah—his name, his girl’s name, and the fact that he was a mechanic for NASCAR.
I used more of Daniel’s story, since that was my work originally. But it still took quite a bit of time and work to turn the story into triplets instead of twins and to correct and add text to fill the story out. I think it worked out. I hope so because I love both of these guys!
How would you define your ideal book hero?
I like reading alpha heroes but weirdly, I like the beta hero when I write. I like the guy who has enough confidence to support his woman but who stands back and lets her take her own risks. He’s there to help if she needs it, but he gives her room to do her thing. My Jack is like that. He thinks I can do anything in the world. He doesn’t step in and take over, he just lets me know that I can count on him if I get too far in over my head. So, I guess I’m married to my perfect book hero. *grin*
What challenges did you face to execute three different stories on the same theme in "Naval Maneuvers"?
Although I was raised in the Navy, I never learned to recognize rank. So, I had quite a bit of research to do about uniforms and other military things. It really wasn’t hard to develop three different stories featuring military personnel. I admire those serving our country, but they are just like everyone else when it comes to falling in love. My biggest fear was that I would get something wrong about the Navy or regulations or, like I said, the uniform and rank. I hope I didn’t!
Who inspired the character of Sabina Volt in "The Triple S Bride"?
I don’t think there was anyone who inspired the character as such, but I stole the name from a woman Jack and I worked with in New Jersey. She was of eastern European heritage and had been a model. I liked her name because it was just different enough from Sabrina, which I like but which always evokes Audrey Hepburn in my mind. Lol.
The idea of Galactic Brides series came from my publisher at the time (Siren-Bookstrand). Each author who participated had to develop a story with certain items in it. I chose to put my heroine in space. I’d never written anything like it before—either a space opera or a ménage—and it was so much fun! I needed Sabina to have a reason for becoming a Galactic Bride, and then I had to let her enjoy being with three men. That book was certainly enlightening! Not a book my mom will read, lol!
Is there any other genre that has enticed you like Romance has, that you would consider writing in in the future?
I would love to go back to the beginning and write a mystery. I took a shot at romantic suspense, but it didn’t work out. And I have a time travel mostly written, but both of those books are still romance. I have an idea in mind for a murder mystery and a heroine closer to my own age. I might write it yet.
What is the best writing tip you ever received and who gave it to you?
Learn your craft, advice given to me by both friends Vanessa Hart and Leigh Wyndfield, though not at the same time and not so bluntly. When I first started writing, I guess I had a knack for storytelling, but I had no idea what I was doing when it come to writing. I didn’t understand scene structure or point-of-view, or anything about the mechanics of writing. It took me forever to understand “deep POV” or conflict. I mean, I understood in the heart but not in the mind. If you’re going to be a decent writer, you should understand those things in the mind, too. It shows respect for your fellow writers and also for the reader, who deserves the very best you can give them.
If you could describe your journey as an author in one word, what would it be?
Happy. Until I’d started writing, I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up. I’d held many jobs—gift wrapper (I discovered that it’s as important to learn what you don’t want to be as it is to find what you do!), librarian, long-distance trucker, teacher, technical writer, editor, trainer—but it wasn’t until I started writing that I thought, This is something I could do for the rest of my life. And I’ve been able to do it!!
Can you tell us about your current projects? When can the readers expect your next book in print?
Currently I’m working on Mark’s book for the Good Man series. But I am also writing a short story for an anthology Black Velvet Seduction is putting together with stories about the second chance at love. Then I have a three-part series in mind with the first book mapped out. It’s about three working women in New York and how they discover love.
When did you first join AllAuthor? What do you think of the experience so far?
Hmm. I think in 2018. I first heard about AllAuthor when I was asked to vote for a colleague’s cover in your monthly cover contest. It’s an amazing group! You offer so much to the author, from weekly advertising graphics to tools like your image maker and such. You’re really a treasure for authors! Thanks for being there for us.
