Barbie is hanging precariously from the hardware of my
mother's drapes, while Ken runs to her rescue. Neighborhood war is declared.
Ammunition and walkie-talkies are dispersed after a lunch of grilled cheese
sandwiches and kool-aide milkshakes. Charlie has a new assignment for his
Angels. They will be teaming with Bo & Luke Duke to secure the micro-chip
hidden in the barn via bikes. Even when the small town of Macungie, PA is
quiet, it is necessary for a girl to keep a fake gun her purse. You never know
when Archangel may arrive in his helicopter with a crisis.
My childhood was a mix of television, books, and pure
imagination. There was and is always some adventure brewing in my head. A constant stream of images of what if's about the world, my favorite characters,
and everything in between.
As a child these images were acted out in play, and
then later on the stage and on paper. To be honest, not much has changed. I
started writing as an addition to imaginary playtime. It was a catalog of
events, and when we would do what. When Barbie would finally kiss Ken, or how
Chris Monroe would find out her partner Kelly was captured by the villain. My
muse developed a taste for adventure, and I explored it through acting,
theater, screenwriting, and then finally the almighty novel.
My books start as a song lyric, a single line of dialog, or
an image. There is also a magical time
of day (or night) my Muse loves, specifically, the time when you are laying in
that place halfway between an awake mind and slumber. It is a magical realm,
and many a scene and a lot of dialog have spawned from that place of peace.
Romantic Suspense is a natural flow of energy for me. It
fits my personality. I have attempted other genres, and I have always ended up
with the 38 Special in my hand bag. For
me, love is no fun without some treachery, and a few life and death moments.
One of the challenges I put forth on myself in writing any novel is first, I
have to love it, and second, there must be a balance. Too many times I will
read romantic suspense and it is more romance than suspense or visa-versa. I
want a good chunk of both. I want them to drive each other. I love reading romantic suspense, and frankly
I was unable to find a book that fulfilled the above need, so I wrote my own.
The inspiration for my first published novel started small. I became intrigued
by the relationship of two brothers on a popular television show, and I started
watching a little closer. Then the lyrics of a song developed the plot and angst,
and I went with it--Two people, breathless and desperate to kiss each other but
unable to act on their feelings. I focused on the single image, rolling all of
the possibilities in my head. Why wouldn’t they be able to fulfill their
desires? What was holding them back, and what would make them so desperate to
act? Where did the need to be in the others embrace stem from? What were the
consequences if they acted on their desires?
The answers to each of these questions are of course
endless, but in the end Trust Me was born. The two people became Rebecca Gailen
and Eric Stiles. The scene wound up in a very different place than I imagined.
It, and its consequences, were shattering to both characters. The Trust Me
Trilogy is my all time favorite series of books. As a reader, they have
everything I want in a romantic suspense! There is action, suspense, romance,
chemistry, passion, angst, ranting, crying, fighting, deception... you name it,
it's in there. As a reader I think I succeeded in my efforts, creating tales
you can immerse yourself in and experience the adventure from the comfort of
your favorite chair.
They tell every writer to write what they love. I am a
writer because I love to read. I can only hope readers love what I write.
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