Yeah! Sliding Home releases to the world August 13. I’m so excited for this book, you have no idea. My editor likes this hero best because… (guess) He’s a fireman. Or he was until he became a hot baseball shortstop. He’s got family issues and who doesn’t? He seduces good girl Ellie in a really unusual balcony scene. She’s always had a thing for baseball players. In her words, “They have the best butts of anyone professional athlete.” Answer: All of the above! Yes my editor loves this book for a variety of reasons, all of which include the sexy hero, baseball yumminess, and his realistic family issues. The chemistry just worked right in the book. Plus, she loves how the book came to be. Guess where I got the idea for the heroine’s “Rejection Therapy” A backyard barbeque when every single person said a hard “No!” to my potato and avocado salad On the side of a tube of toothpaste. Some of us read everything including whatever’s hanging around the bathroom. So there it was on the side of a tube of Sensodyne. TED talks. It was a very learned (and fun) piece about wanting Olympic ring donuts and…

When I was writing THE MORAL COMPASS, the first novel in the Shaking the Tree trilogy, I went in search of a suitable image for the cover. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any pictures of women in 1850s costume that even came close to what I wanted. So, using my knowledge of history of costume, pattern making and garment construction, I made a costume, found a model and photographed the image I had in my head. Most people would probably leave it there. However, I was writing a trilogy, so I had to make more costumes for the different periods in which my books were set. A bustle dress for the 1870s and a leg-O-mutton sleeve ensemble with a huge hat for the 1890s came next. This process has sparked an obsession. I love everything about making costumes; from the research, sourcing the fabric and trims, drafting the pattern, construction of the garment, making the accessories, and the hours of hand finishing these garments require. And the cherry on the cake is photographing the completed outfits so the images will make good book covers. So far, I’ve made garments representing the Regency period (c.1815), early Victorian (1840s), mid-Victorian (1850s), mid-late Victorian…

Your new book – MAVERICK – is a spin-off of your “Cat Star Chronicles” series. What made you want to revisit that world? How are the two series connected? Basically, this is a next-generation series. The children born to the characters in the previous books have grown up and are falling in love while getting tangled up in all manner of exciting adventures. I’m giddy that the hero in MAVERICK is the son of one of my all-time favorite characters – Captain Jack. Will longtime readers see shades of his mother? What qualities do you like endowing a hero with? Who are some of your favorite heroes – both ones you’ve written and ones by other authors? Funny thing about Larry, he’s like his mother in more ways than he realizes, except for one. His language isn’t as colorful as Jack’s. Call it a child rebelling against his parents, but you won’t catch him saying any swear words that the average reader would object to. What his Scorillian navigator, Brak, thinks about his favorite figures of speech is something else altogether. 🙂 I like handsome heroes who are intelligent, have a good sense of humor, aren’t too stuck on themselves,…