Q: When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?

A: That’s a good question. I feel like I should say it has been a burning ambition all my life, but it would be a lie. To be honest, I wasn’t very good at English at High School but I did love to read, and absolutely devoured books. Over the years I have had a thought now and again that I would love to try writing; you know they say everyone has a novel in them. I guess it was probably about three years ago when I started writing to amuse a friend. She urged me to take it seriously and try to write something for publication.

Q: How and where do you normally write?

 A: I want to say sitting at an old desk bashing away on a badly beaten manual typewriter with a cigarette hanging out of the corner of my mouth and a glass of single malt close at hand.  The truth is a lot less interesting. Having a day job, I only get to write in the evenings and on weekends. You’ll normally find me sitting on the sofa, or at the kitchen table, tapping away on my Netbook.

Q: How do you plan your stories? What characteristics make a great hero and heroine?

A: My stories are normally character driven. I don’t sit down before I begin to write and psychoanalyze my hero and heroine but they’re usually the first thing that comes to me.  Sometimes I have no plot to begin with, just two people who want to tell their stories.  Once they take up residence in my head the story flows. 

In my opinion, no matter how a hero looks, there is nothing sexier than a great sense of humor and a certain amount of irreverence.  Even when I’m writing the most serious plots my men always find something to say to make me laugh.

I’m not a big fan of girlie heroines. My heroines are usually sassy and have a take no prisoner’s attitude. Some are more ballsy than others, but they all give my hero a run for his money.

Q: What’s needed for the perfect spark between characters?

A: Like with real people, love between characters begins with physical attraction and finding an endearing quality in the other person that evokes an emotional response.  No matter the situation, one of the characters has a need only the other can meet. 

Q: What hobbies take you away from the computer?

A: I’m in the midst of renovating my house so that takes up a lot of my weekends. I also run. I get some of my best ideas pounding the pavement listening to my iPod. Wine is also a terrible habit. Living near a number of wine regions, it’s almost obligatory to go wine tasting, and to keep at least a few bottles in the cellar.

Q: I know that you’re married and have two children, but do you have any pets?

A: I own two dogs, or maybe I should say two dogs own me. One’s a poodle and the other a poodle cross. The poodle is the most depressed morbid looking creature on the face of the earth but we love her anyway.  The other dog is quite simply insane. She has a pot habit that we just can’t break. We can’t leave a flower pot anywhere she can reach or it will be destroyed.

Q: What are your long term goals? Where do you see yourself in say, ten years?

A: I see myself lying on a beach on my own tropical island with a cute young man serving me cocktails. Hey, a girl can dream!

Okay. My goal would be to cut back the number of hours I work and spend more time writing the kinds of stories I hope people would enjoy reading.