In Which the Author Continues Interviewing Herself About Her Books

• Who was your inspiration for Colton Johnson in “Step Into Love?”

My youngest sister was partly the inspiration for Colton. She deals with a lot of similar issues in her daily life, although she’s never been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. This might be because she absolutely loathes going to the doctor’s office and getting her to tell a doctor how she’s actually feeling is like squeezing water out of a rock. His outlook on life is very similar to hers. The rest of him is just how he developed as a character, though, and has no resemblance to anyone other than Colton.

• Where do you often find the inspiration for your male and female leads?

All over. NO ONE IS SAFE FROM MY AUTHOR EYE. No one. I tackle-hug and then keep bits and pieces from friends, family, characters from movies, my own imagination. What hurts them? What have they gone through? What obstacles have they overcome? What do they love? What drives them nuts? I’ll take small quirks from random passerby and add them to the mix. Pieces of my personality get mushed in, too . . . it just occurred to me this is probably how the Doctor in Frankenstein felt, mashing monster parts together, and it’s slightly worrying.

• As a romance novelist, what are some ways you think are the best ways to show love to somebody?

As a romance novelist? Are we supposed to be good at expressing love and smushy mush emotions, or something? Are you stereotyping me??

. . . okay, fine, I guess I am supposed to know about these emotion things. I’d say it’s best to make sure your loved one knows they are wanted by you, special to you, and always the one you’d choose to stand with against anything the world throws at you both. The way you do this will be different for every couple, because we’re all unique. But taking the time to learn how to do all of that for your beloved because you know their unique wants and preferences? Yeah. Definitely sexy.

• What did you enjoy most about creating the characters Jenny Carter and Mr. Smith?

I love how take-charge and confident Jenny is. She likes sex, and she owns it. She’s the one who pursues Mr. Smith. That self-confidence was my favourite part about her. And I absolutely loved smacking Mr. Smith over the head with the inappropriate-feelings-stick. It was much too fun to torture him. The man wears button-up shirts, slacks, and dress shoes okay, he needed loosening up.

• How do you decide when a story is over and how to end it?

The stories are over when every loose string has been tied up into a nice, tidy, shiny bow. Obstacles are overcome, the sub-plots have been finished up, and everyone is happy. I’m not a cliffhanger type of author.

• Are any instances from “Big Mistake” taken from real life? Do you incorporate stories from your personal life in any of your books?

Um, what exactly are you implying here? It’s extremely fishy that you would put these two questions back to back.

No. Absolutely zero instances in “Big Mistake” were taken from real life. DON’T SEDUCE YOUR TEACHERS, FRIENDS. Really, please don’t. It’s the kind of thing which only works in books. And no, I don’t generally incorporate stories from my personal life into my books. Mainly because my personal life is very boring and fiction is much more interesting.

• When it comes to writing, what are some of your hopes and ambitions?

My ultimate goal is to give a fellow bookworm out there the warm and fuzzies. That’s really all I want. If I can do that, I will happily call myself an author.

• Are you working on anything at the present?

Very much so. I’m creating shenanigans between a sidekick and a supervillain in an alternate contemporary universe full of superheroes. It’s so much fun I keep waiting for the happiness police to bust in, smack my fingers away from the keyboard, and tell me I can’t enjoy my job to this extent.

• Do you have any new series planned?

Yes. Tentatively outlined, already. Orcs are involved, but more in a ‘beauty and the beast’ type way and less in an ‘eating man flesh and looking scabrous’ way. And I get to make up the rules so there are zombies raised from the dead by dark magic, because every story needs a Big Bad and my precious, scary, possessive, cinnamon center, scarred-up, emotionally constipated orcs are not it.