A. Hmm. Good question. A pretty laid back family man who likes to maintain a little mystery about himself. I'm pretty comfortable as an outsider and spent a lot of my early years as an introvert. Books gave me an escape and I learned to be a good listener. I still have my quiet moments, but I would say I'm more of an extravert these days.

A desire to spread my wings after Real for Me & to get a little "dirty". I had something to prove to myself.

I knew this story was going to have some steamy aspects and the title just jumped out at me as a representation of that. It came to mean so many different things though.

A. My wife had read Real for Me and enjoyed it, but she likes stories with more of an edge...more drama. I jokingly told her that my next book would have drama flying off the pages. I then began putting things together in my head and decided to use my old stomping grounds of Houston, instead of the usual New York or Los Angeles. I wanted a racier story, but did it within the confines of the characters.

A. I'm toying with the idea of a sequel involving the character Shenita. I've jotted down some thoughts, but I'm not sure if it's going to happen. If it does, watch out. *smile*

A. I thought I'd take a chance and go with an unlikeable character, but with some admirable traits sprinkled in. I wanted to see if I could spin a story interesting enough for the readers to want to find out what happens to him. That was Reggie, of course. At the heart of the story, it's kind of Shakespearean, wherein Reggie's fatal flaw is his relationships with women.

A. Neal was Reggie's opposite. He had his childhood demons that he was dealing with, but I wanted to show how someone could handle them in a less self-destructive way.

A. I think of my books as movies. In a lot of popular movies, there is that one person everyone loves to hate...but they are SO memorable. I wanted Shenita to be that powerful, take-no-prisoners person. In the movie New Jack City, people remember Wesley Snipes' character, not Ice T's or Judd Nelson's. If, and when, Someone's In the Kitchen makes it to the screen, I think a lot of actresses out there would die to take a crack at Shenita.

A. 3 months.

A. Yes. I'm working on my fifth novel. It's tentatively titled "10 Years".

A. I sit in our guest bedroom that has become my den and do my work on the PC. I like to have music playing when I write. I like things like Sade, Loose Ends, Sweetback but will put almost anything on to shake things up. I think my best writing comes late at night. That's when the creative juices are flowing.

A. I like telling stories of flawed characters. I write primarily to entertain and leave it to the readers to find the hidden messages I may have sprinkled throughout. With Someone's In the Kitchen, I wanted to show the readers that decisions made by people have consequences and that not everything in life is wrapped up neatly. I think the reader can appreciate that.