Research is my least favorite thing about writing! There I’ve said it, and anyone who knows me, will vouch for that statement. On the other hand, I take getting details correct very, very serious. So, it’s always a plus when I can plot my story to include something I find interesting. Imagine my excitement when my latest release, SLATER’S REVENGE, began to take shape and I discovered my heroine lives in a penthouse…in the five-star hotel she inherited years ago. And, she has a personal elevator from her penthouse all the way down to her private garage in the basement. Wow, talk about interesting research! After some initial on-line searching, I realized I’d become the buyer, the builder, the sculpture of my surroundings and I’d become very selective in what I wanted. I wanted my penthouse to be fabulously perfect! Of course, by this time, I was thinking through everything from where suspense scenes would occur to conversation areas to the always important love scenes. I began to lay out the design of the penthouse interior including the flow from room to room, and the city view from the living room’s expansive balcony windows. Skyscrapers mingling with the city’s government…

I’ve been writing for a long time now and have been published with Harlequin/Mills & Boon since 2012. I write contemporary romance – and even with deadlines and late nights and the occasional staring at a blank page – I truly love every word I get to write. What I adore about the romance genre is the diversity in the storytelling. The cultural diversity, historical diversity, books with elements of faith, the suspense, medical romance, the paranormal, fantasy…there is so much to choose from as a reader, and so many ways to be a storyteller as an author. I write for Harlequin Special Edition – a home and heart series that has a strong focus on the central couple, but also on the sense of community within the pages. There can be minor characters – like the meddling mother, the cute kids who want their parent to find a happy-ever-after, the nosey neighbor who wickedly stirs up trouble, and even a four-legged character who adds another dimension to the story. But at the core, is a love story about two people who simply have to be together. Whenever I start with an idea for a new story, I usually start…