(I named a character after Julie in my last book. She was Kalani Leto-Taube.)

Growly, that’s just weird. They’re usually really good about reading those surveys and giving you what you want.

The series concept, I thought, was strong. A small community on the California coast–all focused on rescue/police/emergency personnel. I thought the covers were strong, too. (Even if my heroine would NEVER wear such a conservative suit ) I really thought it would take off…not sure why it didn’t, except that free-standing continuities had been losing ground as a product right around that time and up until now. Now, continuities WITHIN a line (this one would have worked great in Silhouette Romantic Suspense, for instance) seem to be the new trend.

The foster sister’s name is Kalani and I thought she was a scream.

I’m glad you liked Faith’s interaction with her sister. The sister was a character I really liked quite a bit. Malia, right? (Isn’t that awful that I can’t remember and I don’t have a book handy!) That whole aspect of the book was my invention, so I’m glad you enjoyed it.

I really did appreciate the review…it just shocked me!

The book was a continuity, which means the bulk of the plot wasn’t mine. Continuities are series designed by the editors at Harlequin. Each author is “assigned” a book and a bible that outlines the whole of the series. Your characters are assigned, their names, occupations, the villain, the basic storyline, key plot points, etc, and it’s the author’s job to make it all work.

To be painfully honest, I don’t remember a lot of the circumstances you’re describing so I can’t speak to those. I know that sounds awful…but like I said, 20 books since then–20 that were all mine! But I can answer the question about the Hawaiian aspect.

You asked why…I answer with why not? I wanted Faith, who was so serious and driven and had such a sad childhood, to have an anchor in a life that was not so serious, but more focused on things like hospitality and a sense of family and fun. If I remember correctly, I decided that she wore puka beads with her suit first–it was an image that stuck in my mind. The rest of the backstory built from there. Though Adam’s character was fairly sketched out for me by Harlequin, Faith was more of a blank page, so I filled it with elements I liked. (The fact that her mother had gone to prison for a crime she did not commit–which spurred her to become a defense attorney–was not my idea, though I hoped I made it work.)

And yes, I do like writing multicultural characters. I had a good friend who was Hawaiian and I loved her culture, so I used it. I often write about multicultural characters–mostly Hispanic and Italian–but I’ve done others, too. That’s the world I live in.

I learned a great deal about myself as a writer by tackling this continuity, but I’ll admit there were elements of the story I would never have written if the book had been entirely my own. You didn’t take issue with one of them–thankfully! It’s bugged me since I wrote the book. But I had no choice but try and make it fit. The romance part was mine and that seemed to work for you, so for that I’m very grateful!