Five fun facts about me:
- I’ve always wanted to learn to play the piano.
- My writing partner is a half-blind geriatric Shih Tsu named Zoe.
- I can’t whistle.
- I’d love to be an early riser but my body generally has other plans.
- I almost always have at least 3 books going at all times—at least one physical book, an e-book, and an audiobook.
I call my debut novel the book I wrote on accident. I’ve never been that person who dreamed about being an author or loved telling stories. I used to try making up bedtime stories when my kids were little and I’d draw a blank every time. So when these characters came to me with their story and then started waking me up in the middle of the night with their chattering, mostly I just wanted them to go away, haha! I decided maybe if I started writing down their story they’d be happy and leave me alone. Let me tell you, nobody was more surprised than me when they didn’t shut up for two whole months and I ended up with an entire novel!
I write something true-to-my-life in each of my books. The reader gets to guess what it is.
I have so many favorite characters and favorite scenes, but one of the first was in Twice in a Lifetime when Jake comes home determined to make things better with Michelle (his girlfriend at the time) and things don’t quite go the way he planned. It was fun to rock Jake’s world just a little.
I’ve always been an avid reader, even as a child. As an adult I enjoy reading different genres, but romance books are hands-down my go-to if I really want to get lost in a story. And my favorite romance author of all time is definitely LaVeryle Spencer. She has both historicals and contemporaries, which are a little dated now, but every time I pick one of them up for a re-read I still fall in love with the story and the characters and her beautiful writing style.
For years before I started writing, my poor family had had to listen to me complain (yes, we should probably call it whine) that I should be doing something else other than the office work I’d always done. I needed something creative that would satisfy my soul. Well, as I was accidentally writing my novel and loving every minute of it, I realized…THIS WAS IT!
I’d love to walk the red carpet with John Krasinski. Not only is he adorable, he is Jack Ryan, and seems like a really fun guy!
Favorite vacation spot is Maui, hands down. I love the variety in the landscape there—the beach, the mountains, the rainforest. I have vacationed there several times and in my wildest dreams I actually get to move there.
