I’m also delighted that you shared your insights into the subconscious reasons behind Tory’s road trip in Don’t Forget to Smile. It’s always interesting to hear such tidbits.

I’m glad your mom was able to take such comfort in the book at such a difficult time. There is something very comforting about it, so I can see why she would turn to it. I haven’t read all your books yet (I plan to, though) but my favorite of the six I’ve read is Again.

I have to admit that I wish you were still writing romances! The romance genre could use more romances like yours. Nonetheless, I look forward to Keep Your Mouth Shut and Wear Beige. Is there a publication date yet?

DON’T FORGET TO SMILE is my mother’s favorite of my books. When she was trying to get some sleep a few hours after my father died, this is the one she picked up. That it brought her a measure of comfort at that moment means that it will always have a very special place in my heart.

The hero and heroine are apart for a couple of chapters toward the end, and that was partially a result of my inexperience. My background was as a Harlequin American Romance writer. Harlequin Americans are between 70-75,000 words (the shorter series books are 55-60,000). Those are perfect lengths for telling a character-driven story about the relationship between two people. But DON’T FORGET TO SMILE was my second 100,000-word book. (AFTER ALL THESE YEARS was the first, and that book is nearly impossible to find.) Once you add the extra 25,000 words, it really helps to have a vampire or some other drama-filled subplot. Given my interests, I turned those extra words over to the hero and heroine’s other relationships.

But at the 2/3-3/4 point in my first two 100,000 word books I sent one of the main characters on the road for a couple of chapters. Perhaps that was the only way I felt subconsciously comfortable about not resolving the romantic relationship within the time frame/word count that I had been so comfortable with. It was as if I felt “if I leave these folks in the same town, they’ll fix their problems and my book won’t be long enough.” None of this was conscious, of course. Consciously I was thinking that this heroine needed to resolve her relationship with her mother before she could be happy with the heroine … and that led me to realize that the mother had issues with her mother (the heroine’s grandmother).

All the rest of my books have been 100,000 words, and I’m gotten secure enough at that length that I don’t need to send people on long road trips anymore.

I vote with Keishon and Karen; TILL THE STARS FALL is my favorite of my books, but I am responding to process as much as product. I learned so much when writing that book. When I started the book, I could have never written what I ultimately did. (Prior to TILL THE STARS FALL, AFTER ALL THESE YEARS was my favorite.)

My most recent book, A MOST UNCOMMON DEGREE OF POPULARITY, is not a romance. In my previous few books the love story was just one of many strands, and readers who were drawn to the romance covers were disappointed. But you’re published on your resume. As long as there was a hint of a love story in a book of mine, it was going to get published as a romance. So while A MOST UNCOMMON DEGREE OF POPULARITY is about love, it isn’t romantic love.

The next book, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT AND WEAR BEIGE, will be out next spring from St. Martin’s. It is about a mother of the groom.

I learn a lot from thinking about my older books. (This was the first time I had noticed the “road trip” phenomenon and connected it with learning how to write a long book. ) So not only am I grateful to people reading and remembering my older books, I appreciate the chance to sit down and think about them.

My very best,
Kathy Seidel

That’s good enough for me.

Rachel and Karen W., I don’t usually think of Seidel as one of my most favorite authors but almost every time I read one of her books I’m reminded that she deserves a place on that list.

You have some wonderful reviews of her books at AAR, Rachel, and I plan to read and probably review more of her in the future, so maybe we can do a little bit to rectify her being so overlooked.

Barbara B., just to clarify, so you’re not disappointed, I wouldn’t describe most of Seidel’s books as emotionally wrenching. Of the ones I’ve read Till the Stars Fall (which sounds like the favorite here) probably comes closest, but I don’t know if I’d call it wrenching, either.

Seidel’s books are far from lightweight, though. They are serious books, but in a more quiet and thoughtful vein. It is hard for me to say which authors she is close to, so maybe someone else will help me out here? LaVyrle Spencer’s contemporaries (but not nearly so conservative), perhaps?

I think I might have Till The Stars Fall. I know I’ve had an unread book with that title around for over 10 years. I hope I didn’t get rid of it in my last reluctant book purge.

You’ve got a phenomenal memory! I did say that I like emotional and intense books. I’m old-school that way. I want to read romance that’s angsty and emotionally wrenching. I want that HEA to be a reward, a victory.

My favorite of hers so far is probably Again, but since I remember you saying (when we discussed Megan Hart’s Dirty) that you like emotional and intense books, I think you might like Till the Stars Fall better. But Don’t Forget to Smile is also very much worth reading.