IJF asks: What have you just finished?
I have just finished lunch. Now it's time for a cup of coffee. Would you like to join me?
IJF asks: What book(s) have been life changing for you?
I don't remember the name of that one single life-changing book except that it was a Harlequin Romance. After I finished reading it I sat there stunned, thinking it was absolutely awful and that I could do better than that. That one awful book got me started writing, and that has been totally life changing for me. I can't say my first effort at writing was better, in fact, it probably wasn't. But it did get me started in my writing journeys.
IJF asks: Can you tell us your best fan encounter story?
I wasn't there, but I can picture this in my head, as was told to me by my father-in-law. When my father-in-law was selling his house he happened to have a copy of my book VANCOUVER on his kitchen table. While everyone was busy and signing papers, the real estate agent, a lady, picked up the book and told him that she'd read that book and enjoyed it a lot. Then she stopped everything and stared at the cover. She read my name out loud, and my father-in-law could see the gears whirring in her head. Her client's last name was the same last name as the author of the book.... and the book was at his house... just laying there on his table... As she continued to think, my father-in-law snickered and said "yeah, that's my daughter-in-law". She was stunned and started rambling about the book and how much she loved it while he continued to snicker. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall.
What authors do you currently enjoy?
That's a hard question. I have always enjoyed Angela Hunt, and I usually enjoy Jennifer Crusie, although there are parts I skim... ahem... Right now I'm reading something a little different than my usual - Deliver Us From Evil by Robin Carol, and I'm really enjoying it.
Do you ever base any of your characters on people you know?
No, not characters. But I do base jobs and careers based on information given to me by people I know.
Is there a question you wish you were asked in interviews yet you never are?
Strangely, no. I took a long time to think about an answer to your question, and I couldn't come up with any question I wish I had been asked. I've been asked a few questions I wish I hadn't been, though. And don't ask what they are.
What is your writing routine like? Do you write daily?
My writing routine doesn't have much routine. Of course when I have a deadline, writing is priority, but when I don't have a deadline, I do most of my writing on the weekends, but not at any specific time or day. I write every day when I have a deadline, but not when I don't.
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Read, then read some more. Aim to read current books, something that has been on the shelf less than 3 years. Trends and tastes change, and most books are finished being written a year before they hit the shelf, and by then, another trend has started. Also, while we all have our favorite authors, don't follow the lead of someone who has a million books out - they are selling a lot because of their name and history, which they have earned the hard way. Aim to read as many books as you can by newer authors with only a few books out. These are the authors who had to break into the market by the strength of their writing, which is what all aspiring writers must aim to do.
Have you always had that "drive" to write, or did you come to it later in life?
I wrote one short book in my teenaged years, I don't even know why, but I never did any more. The drive caught me and wouldn't let me go in my late 30's, and my first book sold on my 40th birthday. I don't think it's ever to early, or too late, to start writing, or anything you want to do, regardless of when it hits you.
Can you share with us what you're currently working on?
I'm working on 3 projects - I'm working on a follow-up book to The Narrow Path, which I'm really excited about. I'm also working on a quirky comedy, as well as something really different for me - a supernatural thriller.
