What was your childhood like?
My childhood was average for a kid growing up in Alabama. I am the youngest of six, with only one brother who is still my world. My sister, who was three years older and a voracious reader, started me on Harlequin Romances when I was a pre-teen. Once I progressed to Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, and Langston Hughes, I put aside the flowery reads for the more realistic. It is easy to surmise, my childhood I mostly spent between the pages of a book.
Who was the first person you shared your first ever story with?
I would wager my cousin Felisa. She was like my little sister and I would sequester myself in a corner in the Summer or cold Winter months, creating stories with fabulous adventures.
When you first started writing, did you ever dream of becoming a multiple award-winning author?
Yes. I started my writing career as a journalist. I believed, in my naivete, that I would somehow transverse the world, reporting, collecting facts, and solving the crisis of the world. Yeah, none of that happened, so I ended up in graduate school in business, learning how to market sweet treats to people who didn’t need them. Later, by accident, I became a collegiate level English instructor, and after several years of that, I took a break. On the break I started playing around with Kindle Unlimited and writing short stories for women on the go. Honestly, I never imagined I would win any award at all for writing romance books. I am humbled at the acknowledgement.
You have written contemporary romance novels as well as romantic suspense. Which genre do you like more?
I like the romantic suspense genre more, since I only must include romantic elements, versus having the man and woman meet in a cute way. I can have the couple meet over a dead body. Nothing says, “how you doing?” Like meeting over a dead body. What? Is it just me?
How did you come up with the ideas for The Technicians Series? Did you know it was a series when you started writing it?
When I came up with the idea, I didn’t know it was a series. I thought, hey bad guys need love too, but what if, these bad guys are redeemed by helping others less fortunate than themselves. They have money, nice homes, full refrigerators, and a sense of honor. Hey, there must be a woman out there who looks at him and thinks, “oh yeah, I want some of that.” What? Is it just me?
Who inspired the character of Lakota Simjak?
I love Westerns. I often watch the old west shows like The Virginian and Gunsmoke, and Wagon Train, and each time, when the Natives attack, there is always that one guy, riding bareback on the horse, with the torch in his hand. That one torch miraculously ignites seven wagons and sets them all on fire. Yet, each time the cavalry rides in, it is at the end of the burning. I sit in wonder, asking, isn’t there another route these wagons can take? Can the calvary just ride along with the wagons during the trek across the Native territory, and just as I ask the question again, here comes the one brave on the horse with the torch. I asked, what is his story? Lakota is born, and he’s able to ride bareback with flaming arrows to set the PowWow in motion. He’s a bad dude, like that one Brave, igniting all of them wagons on fire with a single torch.
How many books do you plan to write in the "The Delgado Files" series?
I have plans for three more in the series. I am hoping to revisit the family with a holiday read, and marry off Eduardo’s little brother, Carlos. Then give Micah, the third son of a third son, his own book.
How long did it take for you to write the novel, Maple Sundaes, and Cider Donuts?
Maple Sundae and Cider Donuts wrote itself. I love my Modern Mail Order Bride™ Series because it is a new adventure each time, I sit to pen the tale. This story was too much fun. I always start with a what if…and thought what if this guy doesn’t get married, he loses everything. Then, what if, he’s out of time, and the woman who shows up to marry him, isn’t the woman he’s been writing. Does he go with it, or lose it all. (Rubbing my hands together in glee…he goes with it)! They are as opposite as night and day. He lives a neat orderly life and she buys half a prefab house and adjoins to his. It looks as crazy as it sounds and is such a fun read. Also, New Hampshire is well known for, yep, you guessed it, Maple Sundae and Cider Donuts. Ironically, shortly after the release of the book, Krispy Kreme released a cider donut. Cool, right?
Which is your next travel destination?
My next travel destination I am headed north, to New York, to Buffalo, then on to Niagara Falls. I am anxious to get lots of pictures, understand the culture, taste to food, hear the dialects and work on my mail order bride.
What was the most memorable encounter you've had with a reader/fan?
The one reader who9 changed my outlook on what I do, I met in Florida. She told me she sold her jewelry to come meet me. I was so floored, I could barely breathe. I sit in a junky room, surrounded by scraps of paper, making up ways for people to fall in love. This woman, fell in love with my words and decided at any cost, she was coming to meet me. That is humbling.
What book ideas are you currently working on?
If I told you, what fun would that be? I have to keep an element of mystery about my writing life.
How has your experience at AllAuthor been?
I have recommended AllAuthor to several authors whom I think this would be a great experience. I love having everything in one spot, tweets, promos, graphics and all in one location. My experience has been phenomenal.
