A. Just a girl from a small timber town in Oregon who got lucky.

A. My editor and I were working on ideas and we melded two together. I'd been working on a serial killer idea involving a graveyard and he suggested the victims be buried alive. I thought it would be creepier if they were buried with another body which was tied into the killer's motive.

A. Are you kidding? It feels great!!!!

A. Nikki Gillette, the heroine of THE MORNING AFTER, was defined before THE MORNING AFTER was in print as she was introduced in a previous book. Nikki was the reporter dogging Detective Pierce Reed in THE NIGHT BEFORE. So I already knew Nikki and was "in her head" when I started THE MORNING AFTER.

A. As I said Pierce was the detective in THE NIGHT BEFORE and so he stepped into the next book easily. He's a no-nonsense cop and in THE NIGHT BEFORE, Nikki Gillette, who is very ambitious, kept getting in the way as he was running his investigation. It was a natural that they become attracted to each other. The sexual tension between them was already in place.

A. Oh, no. I cut my teeth on romance and have written category romance novels and longer historical romance novels. However, most of my books have at least a hint of suspense in them as I've always been a mystery reader. I love thrillers.

A. I've been writing since 1981. I sold my first novel, A TWIST OF FATE, to Silhouette books in 1982 and saw it released in 1983. So I guess the answer is 23 years.

A. Honestly, I don't know. I do know that BEST KEPT LIES--THE MCCAFFERTYS: RANDI, is coming out in July and that's my 50th novel for Silhouette. I've probably written about 25 more under my own name and then I did some writer for hire books during the lean years. So I guess I can lay claim to about 75. They're listed on my website.

A. To actually sit down and type on the computer, I like things quiet and the house clean. I work at home and I prefer to write the first draft on my lap top computer while sitting with my feet up in a comfortable chair. A cup of coffee or glass of water is always at my side and then I can lose myself in the story. Sometimes I actually jump when the phone rings. Then I know I'm really cookin'.

A. Several, really. I just finished the rewrite of TREASURES, my first big book for Zebra books and converted it from a romance to a romantic suspense--man, that was a major job. It'll be out in August under a new title of SEE HOW SHE DIES, which indicates how different the story is from the first time it hit the shelves over ten years ago. And I'm also working on DEEP FREEZE, another thriller which will be available in March of 2005.

A. Well, I don't consider this a message book except for the fact that good triumphs over evil in the end.