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How
long have you been writing?
I started writing in January 2002,
when my younger son was 2 months old.
Where
were you when you got your first contract?
I was on the tennis court with my
kids, who were taking lessons, when my soon-to-be editor
first called. I got a voice mail from her when I got home
and freaked.
What
was the first thing you did?
Probably talked to myself, not
screaming because I didn’t want to scare my little boys, not
crying, but definitely shaking. I remember I could barely
dial the phone.
Who
did you tell first?
Well, I called my husband, but I
wasn’t sure if I’d sold. The message just said to call her
and I had recently heard of others from the same line
getting a phone call to discuss changes. So I told him the
editor called and wanted me to call back. He told me to get
off the phone and call her back. So I got off the phone and
called my critique partner to freak out. She yelled at me
to get off the phone and call the editor so I finally did.
By that time I was able to act somewhat collected. But I
wasn’t at all collected in reality.
Does
music influence your writing? If so, do you have a playlist
that goes with each book?
Not very much. I have a classical
CD that actually helps me write but if I listen to anything
with words, I get too into the music and forget I’m supposed
to be writing. I do hope to try the playlist thing with my
upcoming books, but we’ll see how it works.
If
your books were optioned for a movie, who would play your
characters?
No idea. I’m pretty clueless about
actors for the most part. I don’t see a lot of movies that
aren’t animated, sadly! Basically if someone wanted to buy
the rights to any of my stories and make them into movies, I
would bow down to their expertise and let them have at it,
casting and all.
J
Do you
like a neat workspace? Or are you comfortably disorganized?
Normally I am a total disorganized
person. My non-writing desk (for my day job) is layers
deep. But if my writing desk isn’t neat, I can’t write.
Very unlike me.
What
inspires you to write?
Good stories. My critique partners
and writing friends. The inner burning to create.
Tell
me a little about The Secret She Kept, your Super Romance
coming out in January of 2009.
This is the third in your Salinger
sisters series. It’s a lovers reunited story, which is one
of my favorite kinds. Savannah is the hard-headed,
controlling sister, the one who isn’t afraid to say what she
thinks. Jake is also hard-headed, unafraid to say what he
thinks, and both of them have things in their past to try to
make right. They just aren’t very willing to do that at
first.
How
long did it take you to write it?
Once I sold it, it took about four
months to write.
Did
you know you wanted to have a trilogy?
Yes. I love writing related
stories. Each of the Salinger Sister books are completely
stand alone, so if someone hasn’t read the first two, they
can pick up The Secret She Kept and understand everything
that happens, but if they ever want more of the “world” and
the characters, they can try to track down the first two
books. I didn’t sell these books as a trilogy but it worked
out okay taking them one at a time. The only disadvantage
is the long lull between each book.
What
are your favorite things about these characters?
I loved exploring the adult sister
relationship. I’m an only child so figuring out how these
three very different women relate to each other (or don’t)
was fun. And I love the heroes, each for different
reasons. I love Jake from The Secret She Kept because he’s
unable to resist Savannah, even when she drives him
absolutely crazy. They are both control freaks and very
stubborn, so putting them together was a lot of fun. They
are so similar that sparks fly.
Katie and Noah from Doctor in Her
House were definitely opposites, so that’s what caused the
sparks in that story. Noah is a good guy but has been
through a lot, so it was fun to see how Katie, who is very
daring, definitely a live-life-to-the-fullest kind of girl,
could affect him positively and help him through his grief.
Thank
you so much for allowing me to interview you!
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