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I went looking for a straight-up contemporary and found Lisa Dale, whose second novel, It Happened One Night, caught my eye with a favorite theme (friends-to-lovers) and a favorite place (Vermont) as a setting. Though Lana and Eli’s romance takes center stage, the novel is about all kinds of messy, selfish, lavish, fiercely loyal love. And it all starts with a pregnancy test in a barn.

Join the conversation: One commenter will win copies of both It Happened One Night and Lisa’s first book, Simple Wishes.

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Lisa’s Interview-

A six-word memoir for your protagonist:

"Falling for a friend-’terrible timing."

The original "triggers" or inspiration points for It Happened One Night:

This book came together because of a number of elements in my life all converging at once. First, it’s set in Vermont-’because I fell crazy in love with the state when I was on vacation there. Second, it’s "about" two sisters who own a wildflower farm because I became fascinated by wildflower folklore, meanings, and trivia. Third, there are issues of motherhood and pregnancy in this book because I wanted to write about the inevitable crossroad we all face as women-’the decision whether to become mothers or not. And fourth, this is a book about friends who figure out how to strip away their own self-delusions to see the true nature of their relationship-’and that’s because I thought it sounded like a messy enough love story for me to want to write it!

An unexpected research detour you made while writing It Happened One Night:

There are so many unexpected research stops for me-’part of what let me bring many elements to a story is just following my nose. Anyway, because this is a friends-turned-lovers story, I wanted to learn more about how beta guys go about picking up women-’and how a man could consciously create a change in the dynamic of friendship. So I ended up mucking around in this really fascinating arena where men can take classes, go to conferences, and read books about how to pick up women. The techniques were surprising-’and horrifying too!

You must have learned something useful from that, because Eli’s awakening is one of the delights of the book. What’s fun about writing a "beta" like him?

I tend to love betas that have just enough alpha not to be totally lame. In other words, I like my heroes to be real men with real problems–but I like them to have a strong and sexy side too. In It Happened One Night, Eli lacks the confidence to go after what he wants (hint: it’s Lana). But then he has a big, life-changing moment–I won’t say exactly what happens. I’ll just hint that Eli learns how strong he is not because he accomplishes something impressive, but because he doesn’t.

The way life teaches us big lessons isn’t always what we expect, and I hope my books reflect real-life encounters with unexpected Grace. If I were writing two-dimensional alpha heroes, all that fun layering and texture would be impossible! So Eli is an emotional beta with the backbone of alpha–he just doesn’t know it right away.

How did you come to choose Eli’s career? There’s a nice symmetry in Lana’s passion for wildflowers and Eli’s for meteorites-’in some respects opposites, but then again, they’re both natural, elemental.

Glad you picked up on that! Eli became a meteorite hunter because on the night I got the call that my first book, Simple Wishes, would be published, I couldn’t sleep a wink. I stayed up into the wee hours watching the Discovery channel, and a documentary about geologists who find and sell meteorites came on. Eli’s love of meteorites does parallel Lana’s love of flowers–they are both sorta nerdy people who love the natural world in their different ways.

Karin is such an interesting character-’so intense and focused that she sometimes crosses the line into being blind or manipulative. But my heart went out to her, and I couldn’t ever dislike her. Did you find it tough to strike the right balance as you wrote her?

I’m thrilled to hear you like Karin! She’s a somewhat controversial character to some readers. Karin (the heroine’s sister) is a woman who means well, all the time. She wants the best for her family–for her husband and for Lana. BUT sometimes, she loses sight of the situation and ends up doing things entirely wrong (for all the right, loving reasons). Ultimately I’m happy with Karin’s role in the book because, love her or hate her, she will keep you thinking as you read. And that’s my goal–to engage people on a deep emotional level with every page I write. That means I have to push people’s buttons a bit. So I do!

Your favorite line or moment in the book:

Oh! I don’t want to give anything away! Readers have been reporting that moments in this book have made them go teary-eyed. So I’ll just offer you this quote: "And now even as an adult who lived among flowers, she still felt humbled to think that a wildflower could coax the most iridescent purples or fierce magentas from the most inhospitable soils. She wanted her own life to be like that, to grow something worthy from hardship and strife."

At your blog, Book Anatomy 101, you write that you like figuring out "how books work, how authors pull off the magic of writing a book." Would you say there’s a particular lesson you learn over and over, or one that helped you as you wrote It Happened One Night?

I have to admit, the blog’s taken a kind of different direction these days. I always blog about books, but I’m not doing quite the same hardcore analysis that I was before. Now it’s more about connecting with other book lovers–AND, I should mention, giving away free stuff. Every month one commenter wins a prize of her choice from my LOVE TO READERS page. And I throw in some other giveaways as well.

As to a lesson I learn over and over as a writer, that’s a hard question! You’re making me dig deep (a challenge I’m always up for!) Let’s see… I suppose what I keep learning and forgetting and relearning is that I’ve got to be true to my own voice. When I worked in publishing and then later when I went to grad school, there were so many people around me telling me how to write. Everyone meant well, and everyone was “right” in his or her way, and I learned a lot. But ultimately, I’ve really just got to trust my instincts (which are getting sharper by the day, thank goodness!) and follow my fascination wherever it leads.

Length of time from page one, draft one of your first book, Simple Wishes, to the "sold" call:

About 2 years.

Your paying job before and after publication:

I held a number of odd jobs-’so many little jobs here and there. I also worked briefly at a literary agency and got an MFA in fiction, where I worked at a lit mag. Now, I work three days a week at an author’s submission service called Writer’s Relief. It’s cool because it keeps me in touch with helping other writers place their work, but it still allows me plenty of time to write.

A published author who helped you along the way:

When I was a senior in college I went to hear Mary Jo Putney speak at a tiny library in Westminster, Maryland. Her poise, confidence, and sensitivity to gender issues made me think maybe there could be a future for me in romance someday. Someday I hope to tell her that in person. J

Your oddest or most reliable writing ritual/habit:

I do my best work in bed. My desk can’t hold a candle to my blankets and pillows.

Writing advice you’re glad you followed or ignored:

This may sound strange, but I think that in order to follow advice, it’s like you have to discover it within yourself. You know how you can hear something 1,000 times, but it’s only the 1,001 time that it finally takes? I’ve got a lot of good writing advice over the years that has helped me a lot, but at some point, all of that external advice really comes down to internal discovery. Now I know to listen harder to my own instincts-’and I’m learning this lesson more and more each day.

Your favorite book when you were 10:

Tough one! At ten I guess I was reading Sweet Valley High books and Goosebumps. But I can’t really remember!

An author or book you recommend again and again:

Jodi Picoult. For her lyrical voice, her intense plotting, and her fascinating research.

Lisa’s web address is www.lisadalebooks.com. There, you’ll find a link to her blog, which has a simple motto: Share your thoughts = Win stuff.

Related posts:

1. The DA Intro Interview: Leanna Renee Hieber
2. Interview with Kimberly Killion, Her One Desire
3. Interview with Jennifer Morey, The Secret Soldier

Welcome to a new feature at Dear Author: the Intro Interview. Alyson H. will bring us occasional interviews with newly-published authors. If you are an author with your first (or perhaps second) novel coming out, and you’d like to be considered for an interview, send your name, web information, and release date to DAintrointerview at gmail dot com.

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This month, we’re meeting Leanna Renee Heiber, whose Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker leads off a series that’s part fantasy, part historical-paranormal romance. In Heiber’s Victorian London, Jack the Ripper is no mere elusive criminal-’supernatural forces are at work, an apocalyptic unrest threatening the city. The title character is also a refreshing mix: people keep describing her as timid, but Percy Parker’s heart "is fortified with passions." She keeps rising to-’and above-’the occasion, and the blushing, crushing schoolgirl becomes the dauntless heroine.

Leanna is also a playwright and actor, and her novella Dark Nest won the Prism Award. She and fellow writers Maya Rodale and Hope Tarr founded Lady Jane’s Salon, a monthly romance reading series in NYC.

We have one copy of The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker to give away; you’re invited to leave a comment for a chance to win.

The Interview-

A six-word memoir for your protagonist, Percy Parker:

From beneath my veil; a radiant light.

The original "triggers" or inspiration points for this story:

In my mind: Miss Percy Parker walked into Professor Alexi Rychman’s finely appointed office and I had to figure out why Miss Percy looked like a ghost but wasn’t one. Across the room from this apparition of a woman sat the dark and brooding Professor and I had to know what made him tick. I had to figure out the tense and aching relationship between these two distinctly different people, staring at one another with such intensity, their hearts filled to the brim with secrets. These questions, these characters, utterly consumed me, immediately, and I knew when I met them that my life would never be the same. And it wasn’t.

Where did the phrase "strangely beautiful" come from?

My agent, Nicholas Roman Lewis. It was a brilliant call. I tweaked the title a little, but it’s basically his. He earned his keep with that one, it’s garnered us a great deal of attention. And consensus seems to be that it fits. I couldn’t be more pleased with it and cannot imagine the title now any other way. I suggested that "Strangely Beautiful" be the series title and that was met with immediate approval at Dorchester.

Your favorite line or moment in the book:

Utter tie between the following: the Beethoven’s Fifth to orchestrate Alexi and the antics therein, the entire waltz scene at the Academy Ball, the first kiss, and Lord Withersby’s entirely inappropriate comic relief in the final scene.

An unexpected research detour you made while writing Strangely Beautiful:

Looking up information on the Ripper murders I came across a newspaper article that was written at the time, lamenting that there were no streetlamps in the heart of Whitechapel. If there had only been more light, the article cried, it could have perhaps stopped these horrific deeds from happening in the safety of darkness. I found this fascinating, that the impulse to fix the situation was just more lights- This tidbit made its way into the novel, where I mention the streetlamps abruptly ending and plunging my hero into darkness.

You allude to the experiences of the Guard in the 18 years prior to the opening of the novel. Do you have this backstory fleshed out, or are you discovering it as you write the series? Any plans for shorter-form prequels?

I have their basic backstory in my head, but subtle details still emerge every day that I spend with them. Book III is a prequel novel, but we’ll be dealing with two Guards at that time, the former one and Alexi’s Guard, so glimpses of the familiar Guard will be shared with the other characters sent to put Prophecy in place.

And I’ll always be discovering more and more as I go forward. I have enough material on Lord Elijah Withersby for a full length-novel I can tell you that, but it just depends on if it can fit within the story arc. If people continue to warm to him, I may have to give him his own book – if Dorchester will let me. :) I’ve a novella for Rebecca and Michael.

The last 80 or so pages of the novel are just riveting-’thrilling-’satisfying. How did you go about creating a pay-off ending like that?

*blush* Wow, thanks! Well I guess I’ve always been drawn to stories where a whole lot happens in one fell and maddening swoop. And I certainly write in the sorts of ways I’m most drawn to reading. There’s something very engaging to me about reading– and writing– events at that seizing, tense pace. I honestly can’t say how I came up with the climax other than that it was simply there, in my head, presented like a film. That’s how I write – I see "film bits" in my head and I write them down and string those clips or stills together into a flowing whole. I guess I was watching a bit of a Gothic action-movie in my head when it got to the latter part of the book. Within the revision process a lot of time was spent smoothing that flowing action and really making it hum as the narrative shifts between the relative parties.

A few things I’m hoping to see in future Strangely Beautiful installments: Percy coming into her own. Stoic Alexi being a bit of a love-struck doofus. Jane-doing anything, because she’s fascinating. Rebecca wildly happy. More Shakespeare references. Anything you can confirm or deny about the direction of the series?

*grin* #1. Indeed. #2. Indeed. #3. Indeed. #4. Not yet (However, they may get their own novella in Oct. 2010! – full details TBA). #5. Not as many

Book II picks up exactly where Book I leaves off, with Percy and Alexi in the main focus as they attempt to establish themselves, with greater insight into the rest of the Guard along the way. But again, time is short, as an all out spectral war looms thick on the horizon.

Length of time from page one, draft one to the "sold" call:

9 years. 9 long heartbreaking years. But worth every minute of it. It’s where it’s supposed to be now. It’s the right publisher, the right editor and the right time.

How you found your agent:

At the time the President of the RWA NYC Chapter, Elizabeth Kerri Mahon (an extremely talented author, look for her Scandalous Women book in 2010!) asked me if I’d tried (in my exhaustive search for an agent) Agent Query.com. I hadn’t. I found my agent, Nicholas Roman Lewis, there. I was intrigued that he also represented theatre artists and had sold movie rights. I thought that might be a good fit. So, thankfully, did he.

A published author who helped you along the way:

Oh, so many. Isabo Kelly, a gorgeous writer, dearest friend and critique partner, and Marianne Mancusi, also a delightful and successful author, who was a guiding hand in the right direction.

Your weirdest or most reliable writing ritual/habit:

Drinking clove tea. It smells like Alexi.

Writing advice you’re glad you followed or ignored:

I’m very glad I didn’t change this book to be only one genre and kept it cross-genre. It may make it difficult at times to market, and was the reason why it didn’t sell for such a long time due to that marketing difficulty, but in the end it has greater appeal for its cross-genre qualities.

Percy spent her childhood acting Shakespeare with a ghost. What have been your favorite Shakespearean roles to play? How has your acting experience helped you as a writer? And where did you get that fabulous Miss Parker costume?

Titania in Midsummer Night’s Dream – playing a faerie Queen just rocks. Amiens, who sings all the music in As You Like It, that was pretty magical.

My theatre background influences every aspect of my writing. I’m very visual when dreaming up ideas, and the settings are very intense in my mind. I think in many ways like a cinematographer. So I’m a cinematographer for the setting of the book. For the staging, blocking, mood, structure, conflict and general goings on, I’m a director. Then for the dialogue, physicality, motivations, emotions, I’m an actor. I actually have a workshop I teach called "Direct Your Book" that addresses each of these in more detail.

As for the costume, the corset was from a shop in New York, the hat was from Mrs. Parker’s Millinery (when I was searching on-line and found Mrs. Parker – hello, that was fate.) and the skirt is from Gallery Serpentine www.galleryserpentine.com (I’d lusted after their work for many, many years and told myself I’d treat myself to one of their Victorian skirts but only when I sold my book). I put all the pieces together and it seemed to work very well. I felt so happy and at home in it.

A place you’d like to haunt in your afterlife:

Victoria Embankment – along the North bank of the Thames river, London.

Three sources of inspiration for you:

All 19^th century novelists (listing them all would take forever. Any 19^th century novelist I read became an inspiration – but particularly Gothic novelists with their interest in hauntings and Classical influences like Mythology)

Graphic and fantasy novels and fantasy films.

Music. 19^th century composers and my favourite Goth band, VNV Nation.

And the city of London goes without saying. But I’m just saying.

How did you become involved with Lady Jane’s Salon?

It started like all great things start; in a bar with wonderful company. I was the connective tissue who knew Maya Rodale, Hope Tarr and Ron Hogan, respectively. I know to always accept Ron’s invitations, something cool always happens. Maya asked "why isn’t there a reading series in NYC devoted to Romance fiction?" We didn’t have a good reason why not so that meant we had to start one. Lady Jane’s Salon showcases readers on the first Monday of every month at a red-velvet drenched bar called Madame X and the proceeds raised from $5 admission or a gently used romance novel go to Maya’s Share the Love www.share-the-love.orgstyle=’font-family:Palatino’> , which serves women in need / crisis / transition. We’re humbled and exceedingly proud of this venture that started as a dare of sorts and grew organically into a popular venue for bestsellers, debuts, all lovers of romance and most importantly, a good cause. More at www.ladyjanesalon.comstyle=’font-family:Palatino’>!

An author or book you recommend again and again:

I physically cannot pick just one–sorry. The short list of a long list: Tolkien, King, Gaiman, Rowling, Stoker, Leroux (The Phantom of the Opera), Hugo, Carroll, Poe, Dickens, Shelley, Bronte(s), Wharton, Austen.

Leanna’s website has plenty of goodies, including a contest, free short stories, videos, and her blog. Visit www.leannareneehieber.com .

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: Hard and Fast by Lisa Renee Jones
2. Interview with Kimberly Killion, Her One Desire
3. Interview with Jennifer Morey, The Secret Soldier

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(U.K. title:   The Wrong Sort of Wife?)

Boon Companion:   What’s your book?

Alyson H.:   Your Roots Are Showing by this new author, Elise Chidley.   Get this-’this woman-’she’s a mom with toddlers, and she writes an e-mail to her sister, complaining about how boring her life is, and how her husband just doesn’t do it for her anymore, even though he’s gorgeous and rich and most of all, British, and then-’and then! She accidentally sends it to her   husband!   Instead of her sister!   And he leaves her!

BC:   Because of that?   Must have been some e-mail.

AH:   Oh, yeah.   (Sound of electronic pages flipping.)   Look.

BC:   (Reads.   Sucks in breath.)   Okay.   My husband would leave me too, if I said that.   So, what-’it’s like sad and angsty?

AH:   No.   I mean, it’s touching-’poignant, you know, but soooo funny.   And inspiring.   I unfolded my elliptical thingy last week and started using it, and it’s all because Lizzie takes up running as one way to put her life back together.

BC:   Wow.   You’re exercising.   I wanna read it.

AH:   I’d lend you my copy after I finish, but- (Holds up ebook reader.)

BC:   Lousy DRM.

About Your Roots Are Showing-

First, a six-word memoir for your protagonist Lizzie:

Cinderella can’t shake the baby blues.

What were the original "triggers" or inspiration points for this story?

The original trigger was a house we rented briefly while living in England. It became the inspiration for the awkward, stripped-down house Lizzie finds herself in after her husband, James, walks out on her. I remember standing in the lobby of that house under the bare light bulb and thanking my lucky stars I didn’t have to deal with it alone. And yet there was something weirdly attractive about the place-’what it lacked in "good bones’ it made up for in potential, if you just had a little imagination. So, rather than dealing physically with the house (which was temporary) I dealt with it at a fantasy level, making it the place where my heroine reinvents herself.

I would have guessed the misdirected e-mail scenario started things off. When did that aspect become part of the story?

The misdirected e-mail bit is based on various electronic mishaps that have befallen members of my family (and that’s all I’m going to say about that). Once I knew I wanted to write a story about a suddenly-single mum in a house so bare that it was a complete clean slate, I then had to come up with a reason why she was in this house without her husband. That’s when I developed the e-mail angle.

Your favorite line, moment, or scene in the book:

I love the moment when Lizzie’s estranged husband finds her out in the garden in a bikini, trying to stem the flow of a burst water pipe with her well-muscled new friend, Bruno, a landscape gardener. I really relish the thought of how James must be squirming-’as well he might!

In your author’s note, you said one of your goals for the book was to “write something uplifting about a topic [postpartum depression] that’s not covered very much.” Did anyone warn you it was kind of risky to have a depressed protagonist? What did you do to make sure Lizzie wasn’t too passive and-’ah-’depressing a lead character?

Because the novel is romantic comedy, I tried to get around the ‘depressing’ aspects of Lizzie’s situation by showing the funny side of things. In my first draft, I think Lizzie was probably too introspective and bogged down in her situation. She spent a lot of time in her mind, rather than doing things. On the advice of my agent and editor(s), I made Lizzie more active-’even so, most of the drama is in Lizzie’s own head. I always find stories of transformation uplifting, so I’m hoping my readers will too.

Among the projects Lizzie pursues in an effort to rebuild her life is the book of children’s nonsense verses she writes. The bits you include in the novel are delightful! Are there more where those came from?

I’m afraid I don’t have any more about the girl who would only wear pink, but one of these days I intend to write an epic nonsense poem about pirates for my son.

You included a lot of pairs in the book, it seems: Lizzie has twins, and two close friends. Two possible love interests for her, and two for her estranged husband James. Two gardens, two houses. Two important swimming pool scenes. Is this craft or subconscious at work?

Wow, there are lots of pairs, aren’t there? That was subconscious, but I think all these pairs underline one very important pairing: the two versions of Lizzie (depressed/run-down Lizzie versus reconstructed/’renovated’ Lizzie). The bottom line is, Lizzie has to make herself strong enough to survive alone before she has a decent shot at sharing her life. She has to reclaim the woman she was before sleep deprivation, pregnancy hormones, and the company of toddlers turned her into someone she probably would have found a bit of a bore, back in her single days.

What’s the best or most unusual fan mail you received about Your Roots Are Showing?

A group of women in South Carolina tracked me down through my web site and asked me to send them some questions for their book club meeting. They found the book at Target and loved it! Better still, somebody wrote a note to me today with the subject heading: Your Roots Are Ripping Out My Guts!

On Publishing-

Your Roots Are Showing is your first published book, but was it really your first book?

No. My first book was a Regency romance written when I was sixteen, about a girl who dresses up as a boy to win a horse race. It stayed in a drawer for ages but eventually I fed it to a shredder.

From the decision to write for publication to the "sold" call:   How long?

About three years. I wrote in a very "part time’ way because I had three children under the age of four when I started the book.

How did you find your agent?

I made an email approach to someone who had just left a big agency to start his own operation. I figured he would need new writers, and I was right.

Your biggest surprise, pleasant or otherwise, about being a published author:

The biggest surprise is that, when your book is finally in print, you still haven’t achieved your goal. You’re only at the beginning of the journey. I had no idea writers had to work so hard on the publicity aspects of publishing.

What’s coming up next from you?

I have a novel coming out in the UK, in November, called Married with Baggage.

On Writing-

Your weirdest or most reliable writing ritual/habit:

My most reliable habit is going back a few pages and editing-’it makes breaking out onto the blank page easier, somehow. Perhaps my weirdest habit is taking a bath when I need inspiration. Lying with my head in a cloud of steam seems to stimulate deep areas in my brain.

Writing advice you’re glad you followed or ignored:

People always tell you to write what you know. I think you should start out from that premise, but in the end you always have to write what you don’t know.

Three items within arm’s reach when you write:

A cup of tea, paper and a pen.

Biggest distraction and how you deal with it:

The biggest distraction for me is the Internet. Whenever I have an "off’ moment, the siren song of the virtual world grows very loud. So far, I haven’t dealt with this issue very well, but I’m thinking about making a rule that I can only check email messages three times a day.

As a RITA Nominee-

How did you celebrate the nomination?

Champagne and lots of phone calls; oh, and cyber cocktails with the Chick Lit Writers of the World.

Wearing or carrying any lucky charms to the awards ceremony?

Hmmm. Hadn’t thought of that. Is it too late to become superstitious?

The author who, despite your usual poise and eloquence, would reduce you to a blathering fangirl if you found yourself sitting next to her/him at the ceremony:

Helen Fielding.

First person you’ll hug/text/call if you win:

My husband.

A Little More Personal-

Your paying job(s) pre- and post-publication:

I’ve worked in journalism, publicity and as a college lecturer in English. Right now, I’m a "home executive’ -there’s no pay, but the perks are fabulous.

An author or book you recommend again and again:

I love Catherine Alliott, an English romantic comedy writer who can make me laugh out loud in public places. I’m always recommending I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith.

A favorite guilty pleasure:

Chocolate. Always chocolate.

Your own "best first":

My own best first: my first positive pregnancy test. I should have kept that little stick with its weedy pink line, framed it, and made it the focal point of the living room decor! I’ve seldom felt prouder of anything in my life.

Your Roots Are Showing (published in the UK as The Wrong Sort of Wife?) is also up for the award for Contemporary Single Title Romance.   Winners will be announced at the RWA national conference in July.   Elise’s website is www.elisechidley.com.

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot
2. Victoria Beckham, Who Has Never Read a Book, to Start a Book Club
3. REVIEW: Queen of Babble Gets Hitched by Meg Cabot

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Private Arrangements was a huge debut, off like a rocket that made us startle, widen our eyes, and say ooooooh. No doubt publishers would love a formula for whatever combination of elements contributed to the book’s success, but here’s the thing that made all the rest of that stuff matter: Sherry Thomas wrote one fine story. PA is proof of the infinite freshness of the romance genre, and Gigi and Camden, while too true to be “easy,” are characters who stay with you, not just between readings, but also long after you’ve stored the book on your keeper shelf. And as for Sherry’s prose… ooooooh.

About Private Arrangements…

Sherry’s note:

May I say up front that, given that PRIVATE ARRANGEMENTS has been reviewed here three times and each of my subsequent books twice, I feel a little silly and quite undeserving, taking up real estate on a series that is clearly meant to expose new authors to the Dear Author readership. But I’m extremely grateful to be honored with Rita nominations and just as grateful that Alyson has taken the trouble to craft specific questions for me. So thank you Alyson. Thank you to all the Ja(y)nes for the reviews. And thank you to the DA readership for bearing with me.:-)

A six-word memoir for your protagonists, Gigi and Camden:

I’d forget you if I could.

What were the original “triggers” or inspiration points for this story?

All the Big Mis storylines I’d read growing up, every other hero believing for no reason at all that the sweet, innocent heroine is a Bad Woman. I wanted to have a heroine who really did do something beyond the pale and to explore the aftermath of it.

Your favorite line, moment, or scene in the book:

Scene, Copenhagen, the canal, the boat, the moment I finally understood the story myself. Fave line, from nowhere close to Copenhagen: “She nearly melted into her chair, leaving nothing behind but a whale-boned corset and an assemblage of skirts.”

The Copenhagen scene was a “keeper” moment for me, too–the second one that comes to mind when I think of Private Arrangements. The first is Camden, “engineering” a gown for his sister. Will you talk some about how that detail became part of the novel?

LOL, I love that moment myself, so thank you for bringing it up.

We are at a point in the book where the story of their past has been told, and the story of their present is in a highly fluid state that could go every which way. So I needed a moment of them together, alone, not in bed, and not in contention, when they are relaxed and being themselves. Their train journey from London to Devon provided the perfect opportunity.

Camden brings work for the journey. He has a degree from Ecole Polytechnique, the French equivalent of MIT, and is a trained engineer. So Gigi sees him working on the designs of an internal combustion engine for a horseless carriage and asks him some questions about the design. As the conversation goes on, she reveals to him that she knew his little secret, that engineering-wise there is no task he won’t tackle, including a ballgown for his sister when he was nineteen and the family was too poor to afford proper couture for the sister’s debut.

It was one of those serendipitous ideas that just happen when you are in the middle of writing. It was so easy to see nineteen-year-old Camden, very, very capable and a little cocky, faced with a weeping sister, thinking to himself there is no reason he can’t manage something as commonplace as a girl’s dress, given that he has cut has cut and sewn sails for his model ships since he was a kid. So he attempts it and finds it much more complicated than he had originally anticipated. He can’t make the kind of bodice his sister wants without it falling off her. The solution? He takes apart his mother’s wire bustle and wires the bodice for the sister’s ballgown so that it would hold its shape.

But that is not the end of his problems.

‘I never knew what panic was until the ball was two days away and I still hadn’t figured out how ten yards of skirts should gather and drape under the bustle. All the non-Euclidean geometry in the world couldn’t have dug me out of that hole.”

She thought of the gown, lovingly packed in layers of tissue, one of Claudia’s most prized possessions. I have the best brother in the world, Claudia had said that day, a not-so-subtle reminder that Gigi should get on a transatlantic liner posthaste.

“You did all right in the end.”

“I wired the skirt too,” he said.

They both burst out laughing. The corners of his eyes crinkled in mirth, laugh lines that she’d never seen before–lines that had come from the sun and the salt of the sea, marks of a man in his prime.

He stopped and looked at her. “Your laughter is the same,” he said. “I used to think you all sophisticated and worldly, until you laughed. You still laugh like a little girl getting tickled, all hiccupy and breathless.”

It still hurts a little, when I read this passage, to think of all the time they’d lost. So I suppose the scene did its job in showing the two of them and–the readers–what things could have been be like between them had they not thrown it all away ten years ago.

Why did you pick the name Gigi?

Can I confess I don’t remember precisely? I first started working on the precursor of this story in the previous century–it’s just been too long. Although I do remember that the first version of PRIVATE ARRANGEMENTS took place in the 1830s, and Gigi had a grandmother who was a French refugee from the Revolution, a courtesan no less. And when I think of French courtesans, I very soon think of the movie GIGI, in which the eponymous heroine’s courtesan grandmother instructs her in the courtesan-y arts. Perhaps that was why?

The novel has a structure that’s unusual for the genre, alternating between present and past. It’s powerful for a number of reasons, but why did you think the story needed to be told this way?

The first version of PRIVATE ARRANGEMENTS was written in linear time, i.e., we meet the H/H as youngsters, see everything unfold, come to the separation about 2/5 of the way in, and then have the rest of the book be the reunion.

My first agent read that manuscript and gave me several reasons why it was be unsaleable. One of the reasons was that she felt the story should start not at the beginning, but at the point of the reunion. I looked at my hundred-some pages of what happened leading up to the separation, said, nope, can’t do it, and set the manuscript aside.

Fast forward five years, I come across the manuscript accidentally and instantly saw how it should be played out, starting at the reunion, with the past gradually revealed to illustrate the behavior and motivation of the H/H in the present.

Of course after PRIVATE ARRANGEMENTS was released, there were lots of comments on the dual timeline structure and not everyone cared for it. But having seen the story written both ways, for me without any question the dual timeline is the better way of telling this particular story. I like the depth and texture contrasting the past and present adds to the story, whereas it felt flatter and less interesting done linearly.

What’s the best or most unusual fan mail you received about Private Arrangements?

The most unusual fan mail I received was actually for Delicious, my second book, from a reader who came across a copy on the streetcar. I’m going to say the best fan mail for Private Arrangements was when Eloisa James emailed me and said she wished she’d written the book herself. Eloisa James!

On Publishing…

Private Arrangements is your first published book, but was it really your first book?

It is, except the first version, written six years prior, bears no resemblance whatsoever to the second version, which was the one that finally convinced someone to pay me a buck. :-)

From the decision to write for publication to the “sold” call: How long?

8 years.

How did you find your agent?

Strictly by querying.

Your biggest surprise, pleasant or otherwise, about being a published author:

The happiest surprise of my publishing career so far was when I sold all 48 copies of Delicious at the RWA Literacy Signing in San Francisco last year. I fear book signings as Wicked Witch of the West fears water. I’d steeled myself for a humbling evening, but woot! Over the moon? Heck, I was halfway to Jupiter with elation.

What’s your latest?

Not Quite a Husband, set in the Northwest Frontier of British India in 1897. Road trip. Malaria. War. Simmering sexual tension. And did I mention they used to be married?

On Writing…

Your weirdest or most reliable writing ritual/habit:

None. No rituals. No habits. I can write any time anywhere under any circumstances as long as my children aren’t actively interfering.

Writing advice you’re glad you followed or ignored:

I never know what’s in my characters’ pockets, unless there’s something they plan to kill or fuck with. I.e., I’ve never done a character study. Not that I don’t think it’s valuable, but I just haven’t the slightest idea what these people carry in their pockets.

Three items within arm’s reach when you write:

Laptop, thumb drive, and internet.

Biggest distraction and how you deal with it:

Internet. I don’t deal with it, I live with it.

One of the resolutions you made on your blog a while ago was to “not write 1,000,000 words to get a 100,000-word novel.”Maybe that was hyperbole, but are heavy rewrites just part of your process, or have you been able to teach yourself how to write more “efficiently”?

Well, nothing since has quite matched the epic slog of DELICIOUS, so in some ways I have been improving. But NOT QUITE A HUSBAND did require a 60% rewrite. And the latest historical romance, as yet untitled, is undergoing substantial rewrites already after my editor read the first 30k words. So yes, I have reason to believe heavy rewrites are just part of the process–good thing I don’t get overly attached to my words!

Sigh. I envy those writers who can do a proper detailed outline then stick to it. My outlines are most useful as fish wrap.

You’ve said that though you write romance, you’re not romantic yourself. What, to you, makes a great love scene?

One word: conflict.

In real life, lovemaking should never be about conflict. In fictional life, lovemaking should never NOT be about conflict. And for me, on screen lovemaking is absolutely the best literary device at a romance writer’s disposal to illustrate, sharpen, and heighten conflict between the hero and the heroine.

I will come out and confess. In my teenage years, I read a lot–repeat, a lot–of romances right up to the first love scene and maybe a couple of pages further. Then I’d abandon those books and never go back. When I was writing PRIVATE ARRANGEMENTS, I wondered why that was. And realized that the fault often lay in the basic set-up of the story, in that there was not enough conflict between the hero and the heroine, and all the tension basically leaked out after the first love scene. And immediately after the first love scene was usually the point when the skanky villains would show up and/or the focus of the story shifted to the mystery/suspense/treasure hunting subplot.

It should be quite the other way around. The love scene should ratchet up the tension. It should make the readers go “omg, what are they going to do NOW?” and turn the pages even faster. Without this underpinning of emotional conflict, there is no point to a love scene.

I’m going to go even further and say that done perfectly, love scenes serve as turning points in the story. Each should mark a point of no return in the H/H’s emotional arc. If you don’t believe me, read Laura Kinsale’s THE SHADOW AND THE STAR and marvel.

(A small mea culpa here: In general I follow the no conflict, no love scene rule very strictly. But I made an exception at the end of NOT QUITE A HUSBAND, my latest. The H/H had gone through so much in the course of the book that I felt they needed a few scenes of normalcy at the end, a bit of laughter and happiness. And since they hadn’t seen each other in a month leading up to it, guess what they were doing for laughter and happiness? :-D)

As a RITA Nominee…

How did you celebrate the nomination?

I’m not a celebrator, so nothing really.

Wearing or carrying any lucky charms to the awards ceremony?

Haven’t got any. Besides, by the time I arrive at the ceremony, the scores would have been tabulated long ago.

The author who, despite your usual poise and eloquence, would reduce you to a blathering fangirl if you found yourself sitting next to her/him at the ceremony:

Do nominees have to sit together? I would have loved to have Meredith Duran next to me. Her talent certainly leaves me breathless. We sat together at last year’s RITAs and there’s something hardcore about Meredith that induces me to misbehave like a drunk debutante. I hadn’t been so bad in years. We had an absolute blast.

First person you’ll hug/text/call if you win:

Hug agent. And editor, if she can make it. Call family.

A Little More Personal…

Your paying job(s) pre- and post-publication:

I was a suburban housewife pre-publication. I still am. :-)

An author or book you recommend again and again:

Lately, it’s been Eva Ibbotson’s Madensky Square.

A favorite guilty pleasure:

None, where books are concerned. I probably wouldn’t understand guilty pleasure as a concept at all if it weren’t for a certain drop-dead gorgeous actor who hasn’t been nearly as good a thespian. I still go see his movies.

Your own “best first”:

My first mille-feuille (napoleon). Love at first bite with French pastry, my most enduring love affair yet.

***

Private Arrangements also received a nomination for Historical Romance. Winners will be announced at the RWA national conference in July. If you’ve never read about Sherry’s background, head over to the bio and interview links at www.sherrythomas.com and prepare to be fascinated. You’ll also find the blog she keeps with fellow author Meredith Duran.

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas
2. REVIEW: Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas
3. REVIEW: Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas

***

Meet Anthea. Meet Lawson, too, because Passionate is the literary baby of a husband and wife writing team.     As in the best of partnerships, they seem to share a vision even though their strengths may lie in different areas:   they’ve said that alone, Anthea would have a dozen unpublished manuscripts by now, and Lawson just one perfect paragraph.   Together, they wrote plenty of perfect paragraphs telling the story of botanical artist Lily Strathmore, who is trying to be the proper sort of lady of her time (1847).   At least, she plans to try, right after one last adventure, an expedition to Tunisia. And maybe a bit of a fling.   After that, it’ll be Victorian propriety all the way.   Really.

About Passionate-

First, a six-word memoir for your protagonist:

True love with all the trimmings.

What were the original "triggers" or inspiration points for this story?

The trigger came after reading a NYT bestselling author whose story promised romance and exotic travel but failed to deliver. After finishing it, Anthea uttered the fateful words: “I could do that!” We wanted more action and sunny exotic locales to go along with the spicy romance, and ended up with a Victorian-set love story centered around a botanical expedition from England to Tunisia.

What was it about Tunisia that first attracted you as a setting?

We knew we wanted to send the botanical expedition off to someplace exotic and sunny. We first thought of South America since it seemed like someplace people would go to discover a new bloom. The trouble was it was just too far away. Looking closer to England, Tunisia really jumped out-’especially since we knew we wanted to stay in the Mediterranean basin. Tunisia in 1847 was an independent, warmly exotic country, accessible to Europeans of the day. Perfect!

Your favorite line, moment, or scene in the book:

Anthea picks the transcendent kiss aboard the sailing steamer in the middle of the Mediterranean. Lawson likes the anti-rescue when the hero and heroine first meet. It was the part of the book that evolved most through the various drafts.

The Baronessa appears in just a few scenes, but she seems to have a full (and very interesting) story behind her. Did she have a larger role in earlier drafts?

No, Baronessa Bellini had a smaller role. She appeared just on the ship to Tunisia. When it was time to pull everyone together back in England, however, we thought it would be fun to develop her story a little further. She’s a charming character and we are very fond of her. From a writing standpoint, we like to develop interesting secondary characters with lives and histories of their own. It makes a book so much richer. Sometimes all it takes is an added line of dialogue or two to hint at a minor character’s history. In the Baronessa’s case, we told an entire romance on the sly, dropping enough hints for a careful reader to piece together her story.

What’s the best or most unusual fan mail you received about Passionate?

A contest judge early on wrote on the feedback sheet: "I’d buy this book in a heartbeat." We never found out who the judge was, but it gave us the encouragement we needed to pursue getting an agent and publisher. Someone liked the story as much as we hoped and dreamed they would. That made all the difference.

Lily is a botanical artist. Do you have plans for characters who will reflect your own musical interests? Richard, perchance?

Funny you should ask~ Our current WIP is a Cinderella-type tale set against the backdrop of 19th century musical celebrity. The hero is a solo violinist (the rock-star of his age), and the heroine is an impoverished composer whose works are published under her brother’s name, because Europe is just not ready to acknowledge that a woman could actually write music. It’s an exciting story, full of secrets and passion and a sexy merging of music and desire.

By the way, if you would like to hear some of our own Celtic music, you can find a link from www.anthealawson.com over to our CDBaby page.

What’s coming up next from you?

Our second book, All He Desires, will be a November release from Kensington. It features a dark, hunky, irresistible hero who has exiled himself because of a tragic and mysterious event in his past. It was great fun introducing him to the one woman who could lead him back to the light. Plus, we get the added bonus of starting out on the sunny island of Crete.

And if you like our book Passionate, you will find some of the same characters appearing in All He Desires. It’s more intense than Passionate, and Anthea has done some tricky things with the lighting in the love scenes that reinforce the wounded hero’s emotional journey. As for Richard, yes, his story is waiting in the wings too. So many characters who deserve their own books-’good thing there’s two of us writing!

On Publishing-

Passionate is your first published book, but was it really your first book?

Yes, it’s the first manuscript we wrote-’though we rewrote it probably seven or eight times over the course of 2 years. (Parts of it went back and forth between us for rewrites a dozen times.) The final story bears very little resemblance to the ugly chick that first emerged from the egg of "Hey! Let’s write a novel together!"

From the decision to write for publication to the "sold" call: How long?

Four years, and then another year before we saw the book in print. Two of those years were spent writing and re-writing, figuring out how fiction works, and polishing the manuscript. It took us a year to sign with an agent once we got the book to the "done’ point.

How did you find your agent?

An early draft of the MS won third place in the Pacific Northwest Writer’s Association contest in the romance category sponsored by author Stella Cameron. She graciously introduced us to agent Denise Marcil at the awards reception, who asked us to send her a partial. We did, and she passed it along to her associate Maura Kye-Casella, who loved the story and, even though she was not going to acquire another historical author, she offered to represent us.

How useful do you find contests?

We have found contests incredibly useful, but we’ve also been selective about where we enter.     [The PNWA contest] started the chain of events that led to our agent (plus an insightful read of the full from Donald Maass, which was helpful and encouraging.) We also entered in the Golden Heart, and PASSIONATE, (then titled Fortune’s Flower) was a finalist in Long Historical in 2006. And now the Rita nomination for Best First Book, which we are thrilled about.

Anthea now judges a lot of contests, and it’s something she recommends to everyone.

Your biggest surprise, pleasant or otherwise, about being a published author:

Finding out how publishing really works. That would be both pleasant and otherwise. And the utter, confounding awe of holding your first printed book. When those author copies arrive- wow.

On Writing-

Your weirdest or most reliable writing ritual/habit:

Writing as a couple. What’s weirder than that? Luckily we have played and performed music together for years. The creative, collaborative process of writing is very similar. Not that it doesn’t have sticky patches – but we have enough respect and compassion for one another to work through the disagreements.

Do you see the success of your writing collaboration as coming from your relationship, or from a more generalized talent for working with others? In other words: could you do this with anyone else?

Interesting question. We could collaborate with other people creatively, but the way we tell stories, the way we are evolving together as writers, is unique to the two of us. It’s an outgrowth of who we are as a couple The fact that we’ve had to learn how to collaborate musically helps. In music, as in writing, there are an endless series of judgment calls you have to make. You have to perform, make your mistakes, then go back and refine until you have a product you feel proud of. A draft of a novel or chapter is really like a rehearsal that takes place on paper. You have to have the courage to let go and perform and then the honestly to look at the results and figure out how to make it better. We’re lucky to be able to do that together. Plus, we’ve always been big communicators. It’s great fun to talk about the characters in our stories and what is going to happen to them. We’re constantly surprising each other and bouncing ideas back and forth.

Writing advice you’re glad you followed or ignored:

We’ve benefitted from a lot of great books on the writing craft over the last few years. Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones has always been a source of inspiration. Keep the pen moving! Also Elizabeth George’s "butt glue" advice. Keep your butt in the chair and just WRITE.

Three items within arm’s reach when you write:

Chocolate. Good specialty chocolate, not that brown waxy stuff.

Google. Invaluable for a historical author, and yes we double-check facts, but what a tremendous resource!

A nice strong cup of black tea with milk and sugar – a holdover from the summer we lived in Ireland, and nice to warm up hands on after typing for a while.

Biggest distraction and how you deal with it:

Loops and blogs. DA and SB being the major offenders there- Anthea tries to use visits as a reward after making her word count for the day. But sometimes she’s bad.

As a RITA Nominee-

How did you celebrate the nomination?

Cheering and dancing around! We also called our family and our writer friends. It’s the kind of news you just have to share with someone.

Wearing or carrying any lucky charms to the awards ceremony?

No lucky charm needed. Just being nominated is a win for us. It means we succeeded in writing a love story with enough freshness and craft that it impresses people in the industry and, more importantly, delights readers.

The author who, despite your usual poise and eloquence, would reduce you a blathering fangirl if you found yourself sitting next to her/him at the ceremony:

It’s hard to pick just one person, but early Mary Balogh novels have been a huge inspiration. Julia Quinn, Connie Brockway, sheesh, the entire slate of the RITA nominees in the Historical category.

First person you’ll hug/text/call if you win:

Probably anyone within reach when the announcement is made. Then Lawson, of course. He won’t be able to make the ceremony. Next would be, uh, my mom and my writer pal Margaret Mallory.

A Little More Personal-

Your paying job(s) pre- and post-publication:

Musicians. What was that about the day job? J We play together in a Celtic band called Fiddlehead, and Anthea teaches Irish fiddle. Actually, Lawson has a law degree and finally broke down last year and got a day job as an attorney for the State of Washington.

An author or book you recommend again and again:

We can’t choose just one. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale, Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Browne and King.

A favorite guilty pleasure:

Sleeping late-’which is much harder now that we have a kid! Playing World of Warcraft.

Your own "best first":

The day in late 1992 when we met on-line.   Lawson was moderating a writer’s special interest area on a regional dial-up Bulletin Board System. It was the beginning of a wonderful, word-and-music-filled journey.

RITA winners will be announced at the RWA national conference in July.   Anthea and Lawson keep a blog at www.anthealawson.com, where you can also find links to their musical interests, Regency parlor music and Celtic music.

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: Passionate Thirst by Cameron Dean
2. At the Passionate Ink luncheon…
3. Free Sherrilyn Kenyon Book to Promote the Publication of Asheron’s Book

***

The diversity of the settings in Jennifer Morey’s The Secret Soldier give you an idea of the novel’s sweep: war-ravaged Afghanistan, a Greek island that lives up to its romantic promises, and eventually, a small Colorado town invaded by the national media. All those cameras and reporters are looking for a hero–the mysterious rescuer of Sabine O’Clery, a contractor who was kidnapped in Afghanistan. Sabine knows that man is Cullen McQueen, and his name is just the first secret she has to keep. Jennifer is one of several double nominees among the debut authors, with The Secret Soldier also landing a place in the Suspense/Adventure category for contemporary series romance.

About The Secret Soldier-

A six-word memoir for your protagonist:
Headstrong heroine can’t hide her heart.

What were the original "triggers" or inspiration points for this story?
Back in 2005, the beheadings of contractors in Iraq was all over the news. It so upset me that I decided to write a happy ending to something similar. THE SECRET SOLDIER was born, where Cullen McQueen is the yummy ex-delta man who saves Sabine O’Clery from her captors in Afghanistan.

Your favorite line, moment, or scene in the book:
When Sabine discovers Cullen has arrived in her hometown to protect her despite the risk of exposing his identity. It’s a great turning point in the story and things really get fun after that.

Noah, Sabine’s father, is a great example of a character who has a definite function in the machinery of the plot, but who is also a fully realized person. Do you develop your secondary characters in the same way you do the main ones?

Yes. Actually, Noah and Sabine’s mother were developed extensively in the initial unpublished novel. This manuscript started out as a single title but when Harlequin asked me to shorten it to category length, I had to remove a lot of content related to secondary characters.

The Secret Soldier has this wonderful, happy-sigh-inducing, Hollywood movie ending. It’s very satisfying, and yet to think about the tragic events that made you start thinking about the story in the first place–well, it’s a pretty dramatic journey between two points.

Thank you! I love the ending, too. There was nothing happy about the news features covering contractor beheadings, and that’s why I wanted a happy ending for my story. I also wanted it to be entertaining and fun and directly related to the threat to Cullen’s identity. I wanted to turn what Cullen perceived as the worst thing that could possibly happen to him into something good–his epiphany as he faces that conflict. And let’s not forget the romance. What better way to end this story than with a cheery splash?

I sometimes “begin with the end in mind” but not always. I definitely aim to resolve all the threads, and if chapter one addresses the theme of the last chapter, I’ve begun with the end in mind. In The Secret Soldier, chapter one begins with a lot of suspense, so the first and last chapters are very different.

What’s the best or most unusual fan mail you received about The Secret Soldier?
Has to be my first Amazon review: "Look out Suzanne Brockmann."

What’s coming up next from you?
HEIRESS UNDER FIRE will be released September 2009, and KISS ME ON CHRISTMAS is a novella in a 3-in-one book that is due out November 2009. Book 3 in the ALL MCQUEEN’S MEN miniseries will likely be released late spring of 2010.

On Publishing-

The Secret Soldier is your first published book, but was it really your first book?

It is my eighth. The first six were me learning how to write. The seventh is publishable if I do some revisions. I had ten written at the time I signed with Harlequin.

From the decision to write for publication to the "sold" call: How long?

Ten long, hard-working years.

How did you find your agent?
I compiled a list of nine New York agents and sent query letters. Maureen Walters from Curtis Brown asked for a four-week exclusivity, which I gave her, but after that I sent the rest of my queries. I received six requests for material and three offered me representation, one being Maureen.

Your biggest surprise, pleasant or otherwise, about being a published author:
That I’m a published author….

On Writing-

Your weirdest or most reliable writing ritual/habit:

Roll out of bed and go straight to my office in PJs and a hairclip.

Writing advice you’re glad you followed:

Never give up.

Three items within arm’s reach when you write:

Water, pen, and a notebook.

Biggest distraction and how you deal with it:

Boyfriends. I haven’t learned how to deal with them yet.

In one interview, you mentioned your twin sister, whose reading tastes, you said, run “more along the lines of that sad, deep stuff that often has the word ‘Pulitzer’ attached to it.” Does she make a good critique partner for you?

Laughing! My twin sister has never critiqued my work. I joke a lot about our differences, but really she is my biggest supporter. She loves to brag about me. And as far as critiquing, I sometimes run titles by her, or certain story ideas. But I never ask her to read, because from a business standpoint, it is better to have someone familiar with the genre than someone who is not.

As a RITA Nominee-

How did you celebrate the nomination?

I did nothing other than tell everyone I could think of and bask in the wonder. That was enough. A little over a week later, my brother did throw a barbeque and I celebrated with my family.

Wearing or carrying any lucky charms to the awards ceremony?

No, just my positive thoughts and energy. I might wear something that belonged to my mother.

The author who, despite your usual poise and eloquence, would reduce you a blathering fangirl if you found yourself sitting next to her/him at the ceremony:

Rachel Gibson.

First person you’ll hug/text/call if you win:

My boyfriend. My twin sister if he screws up before then (wink, wink).

A Little More Personal-

Your paying job(s) pre- and post-publication:

Associate Project Manager for the Space Segment of a satellite imagery and information company. I work with export licenses required by International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and fill a technical administrative role for my brainy co-workers.

An author or book you recommend again and again:

Anything by Rachel Gibson or Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

A favorite guilty pleasure:

Spending money I don’t have.

Your own "best first":

The way I felt when a man hit on me for the first time in 20 years. It pushed me over the fence and compelled me to get a divorce. This sounds terrible, but it wasn’t. My divorce was friendly and necessary for my growth. It was the best thing I ever did for myself. And I have a sexy French guy to thank for helping me find the courage.

RITA winners will be announced at the RWA national conference in July. You can read some of Jennie’s short stories and see pictures of her with her twin at www.jennifermorey.com .