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Frequently Asked Questions . . .

There are some common questions all writer's get asked. Things like: "I have a great idea, will you write the book for me." The answer is always no. We have more ideas than time.

Below are some of the questions I've been asked whenever I speak to writer's groups or reader's groups. I'm sure I'll add to this page as additonal ones come up.

Why do you write romance? You seem smart, why don't you write something better?

First, I love romance. I've been reading it since I was twelve or thirteen and I always come back to it. Second, it is smart AND important. What could be more important than writing about the most intimate relationship we all want to have, but spend our entire lives trying to get right? Third, I believe I have something to say in this genre. Love, lust, power, trust. These are all key to the relationships that we have--whether they are romantic or not. In my books, my characters are always trying to navigate these issues. How well they do is tied to their past experiences, just like it is for all of us.

Finally, I write romance because I love to read it. I love the "happily ever after" requirement. When I take precious time from my day and choose something to read, I want to know that the characters will achieve their goals in the end and find love and happiness. Our world is filled with too much tragedy, and I hear it and hurt for it on a daily basis. My free time, my entertainment time, is spent in worlds where I can count on things to turn out right in the end. If I can give that same entertainment to someone else in my books, then I believe I am doing my job as a writer.

Do your books have sex scenes? If so, how could you write them and know your mother may read it? (This question has different variations on the reader, including husband, son, daughter, pastor, grandmother, etc.)

Yes, my adult romance books do have sex scenes. Let's face it, there are very few people in the world who purposefully enter into a romantic relationship without an expectation of sex. More than that, there is an expectation of great sex. I know not everyone is comfortable in reading these scenes. For those readers who wish not to read these scenes I can give them a list of pages to skip and still be able to enjoy the rest of the book.

In today's world, it seems unnatural to write a book where the romance is central and not have the protagonists having sex. Certainly, the description can vary from mere suggestion (they walk into the bedroom and close the door) to graphic detail (erotica). My books are somewhere in the middle between those two ends of the continuum. Most reviewers would call them "hot" --the typical sensuality level of today's romances. The sex is integral to the relationship, but it is not the majority of the book. In fact it averages between 10 and 15%.

I'll admit that when I wrote my first sex scene, I was definitely embarrassed at the thought of who might read it and what that person might say to me or ask me. I was brought up in a household where sex was never discussed. Consequently, for me to even find the right words for the scene was even difficult. However, as I've grown in my writing and in my understanding of the relationships of my characters, these scenes have become easier for me to write. In a real life romance, the progress of the sexual relationship is often a marker of turning points in the relationship. True intimacy requires both partners to trust, to let go, to share power and control. The sexual relationship in a romance is one of many important metaphors which help to explore the progress of intimacy.

How much of the characters' lives reflect your own life?

I personally don't know how any author can write characters and use deep point-of-view without some of their own life and issues being included in the book. Certainly, the themes of the books I write are both personal and universal--overcoming adversity, seeking to be whole, compromise, trust. Depending on the story, I may get the initial spark of an idea from something happening in my life--but those few scenes that are closest to my life frequently end up cut or changed drastically by the time the story is done. My story ideas are usually an almagamation of events occurring in and around my life (past and present), along with events in the news and in books and magazines I'm reading when I start writing a new novel. Once I start putting my characters in the scenes, they truly seem to have their own ideas about how to move the story along and resolve their own issues.

One of the great benefits of being a writer (and a reader), is that I can live vicariously through my characters. I can go places I may never get to see in person. I can try things I know I would be too scared to try in my real life. I can stop the bad guys and save the underdog every time. I can be younger, have a quicker wit, deliver the right comeback line more often, be more beautiful and sexier than my real self. In short, I can manipulate and control every part of the world I build. As my sons would say...SWEET!