Q: In one sentence, tell me something that describes you as a person?
A: I’m outgoing, outspoken, and vertically challenged.
Q: How many books have you written? How many of those are published?
A: I’ve written over 70 books, but only 52 of those have been published.
Q: Do you have an upcoming release? If yes, tell me the title and impending release date.
A: My next release, The Gangster’s Daughter, will be February 14th. This is a historical romance set in the 1920s where a gangster’s daughter falls in love with a fed.
Q: If you could “create” your own genre of what you write, what would you call your books?
A: Light romantic suspense.
Q: Without quoting your back cover synopsis, tell me about the last book you published.
A: Last Showing was published on November 30, 2016. A cop’s wife becomes the pawn in a game of revenge. A target of a serial killer, she’s escaped once, but he always finishes a kill.
Q: Tell me something about yourself that is separate from writing.
A: I am a night owl, a fan of old television comedies like Barney Miller and Night Court, an avid shopper, and I love crafting, binge-watching Netflix, and making people laugh.
Q: Who is your favorite Author?
A: Jane Austen, but Elizabeth Gaskell comes in a close second.
Q: What is the last book that you read? (Not counting anything you wrote)
A: Hard Rules by Lisa Renee Jones.
Q: When writing, do you have a system or something you plan, or do you just write?
A: I have a little of both. I do create character outlines so my characters don’t change eye colors halfway through the book. I have a general idea about the story which might be two to three paragraphs then I start writing. I usually just let the words go and fix them later.
Q: Why do you write?
A: I write because I like delving into fictional worlds, creating unique characters, and bringing them together into a whirlwind of fantasy, suspense, or drama. Writing, to me, is bringing fantasy to life. It’s creating an escape hatch for readers and sending them on journeys they’ll, hopefully, remember forever. I know that’s what reading does to me.
Q: Do you read your own work a lot? If so, what does it do for you?
A: I read every manuscript I write after my beta reader. When I’m reading any one of my books, it’s with an editor’s eye, though, because by the time I read the book, I’ve lived it for several weeks already. After that final read-through, I feel relief, satisfaction, and joy. It’s another goal finished.
Q: What is your favorite type of music? Is there one genre (or song, band etc...) that brings out your creativeness more than others?
A: I love alternative music. My favorite band at present is Imagine Dragons. I play Demons and Radioactive on repeat in my car. I’ve always loved writing to alternative music as it’s never difficult to find a song to match the scene I’m writing or the overall mood of the chapter.
Q: As an author, I find that the hardest thing to write (for me) is the synopsis that will be on the back cover or book’s description. When you write, what is the hardest line to write, the first line, the last line or the synopsis for the book?
A: Always the last line. Depending on what I’m writing, I either want to end on a happily ever after note or with the sense that a character’s journey is complete. There’s a fine line between making sure the ending isn’t too sappy or trite.
Q: Any final thoughts that you want to give to your fans or even future authors?
A: I am so grateful to my readers, to people who spend their hard-earned money to buy my books when there are so many other great books. Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many readers, and it still amazes me when someone tells me how much they’ve enjoyed something I wrote!
