I'm a retired reading/writing teacher who embarked on my second career, writing novels, in 1998. My first novel, Snowbound With Love, was published by Arabesque in June, 2000.

I saw a news report about a woman who was pardoned after being convicted on drug charges. That triggered the story line. How will a woman, recently released from prison, put her life back together, put her past behind her and face the future? I am also aware of how society's drug problem affect innocent people including family members of those involved. I wanted to show that it is possible to overcome such situations and find happiness.

I chose Trust in Me for the title because in order to move their lives forward, both Linda and Avery had to take a chance and learn to risk trusting somebody again.

You will probably think this is weird, but after I get the basic idea for a story, I let the character lead me. Although she is fictitious, Linda told me her story.

I have read of too many people in prison, including a lot of females, who are innocent. Many happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I had Linda be innocent in order to make sure the readers were sympathetic to her. I didn't want anybody to think she deserved what she got. I got a letter from a reader who said she can relate to Linda's story and it made her believe that she can put her past behind her. It was a letter that made me feel very humble.

I needed to give her a career that Avery needed. As strongly as he felt, I had to have him desperate and computer specialists are in short supply for jobs like the one that Avery offered.

Most of my male characters have a lot of baggage and Avery certainly did. I needed a male character who had something in his experiences that would make him reluctant to hire somebody with Linda's history. Again, I needed a character who had to battle to heal his hurts and learn to live again. I threw him in a situation where he had to face his ghosts every day in order to get rid of them. What better way than a situation where they needed each other which was the last thing either of them wanted?

I have been writing poetry and short stories for years. For as long as I can remember I have been an avid reader. One day I finished reading a book and said, "I can write this." I then wrote my first novel. Snowbound with Love was the first contemporary novel that I wrote. I have two historicals that have not sold as yet.

Six. Trust in Me is number four. Here they are in order: Snowbound with Love, Dream Wedding, Home for Christmas, Trust in Me, and To Love Again. Escape to Love, number six, will be released in June, 2003. None of them are related so you don't have to read them in any certain order. Some have heavier plots than others so check the blurb. My books are not all alike.

Yes. I try to write other genres, but they always end up romances. With all the troubles in the world, I love a happy ending.

I just finished writing Florida Love which is about what the main characters think is computer espionage.

Extreme quiet. I have to hear my characters talk. It's as if I'm watching them live their lives. You know, I'm that fly on the wall. I recently moved my office to our third floor because my old one was off from the kitchen and I was being disturbed whenever my husband made his coffee, etc.

I want the readers to believe that as long as you are alive, you can move forward. You don't have to give up or give in. You can't change the past, but you can overcome it.