Thank you for taking the time to talk with me

I've always wanted to be a novelist, ever since I began reading novels. It's only been during the past two years that I finally decided to put wishes into reality, sit down, and write books.

I can't really pinpoint one specific inspiration. Mainly, what I do is think of characters and put them in certain situations. For example, Stephen, who appeared in Backstage Affair, deserved his own romance, so I tried a lot of different scenarios for him (at one point, I had him falling in love with a female body builder, of all things). Then one day it slipped into my mind -- why not have him become involved with a newspaper editor (who, coincidentally, also makes an appearance in Backstage Affair)? And furthermore, why not have him do something awful that gets him into the news? Hence a new novel, Mixed Media, was born.

I wrote Double Mitzvah the same way I write a lot of my stuff, by asking "what if." Some years ago, I'd written an article for a Jewish publication called "The Joys of Jewish Sex." At that time, I learned about the family purity laws that are practiced among many Orthodox Jews. The main basis of the law is a man and a woman can't have sex while she's menstruating and for seven days afterwards. This makes sense from a procreation view as woman is at her most fertile at this time, and a man is potent because he has abstained. But one of the rabbis I interviewed mentioned in passing that the sexual heat of a couple after this period of abstention could be quite intense and passionate.

Last summer I sat down and began fooling around with the idea of the family purity laws. My "what if" in this case was to take an imaginary peek in the bedroom of such a couple, and once I began writing about it, the story came together quite nicely.

Most of my characters are composites; the only one who is based on an actual person is Stephen Lemont, the hero of Mixed Media. Stephen had a fairly substantial role in Backstage Affair as the heroine's best friend, and he's loosely based on a guy I knew in Chicago who was a theater director; in fact, he directed most of the plays I wrote. This guy was very passionate, intense and focused -- something I tried to put into Stephen. But unlike Stephen, my friend was very, very gay.

When Backstage Affair was released, we had a huge party -- it was my first book after all. But these days, I just smile when one of my books comes out, heave a sigh of relief, wonder in a brief moment of panic what reviewers and readers will say about it, then move on.

I've been a freelance writer for years, so seeing my name in print isn't new but it's always humbling to me, even after all this time. But publishing in this genre has put me in touch with some amazingly wonderful, talented and supportive people -- Lisa Renee Jones, for example, a wonderful author in her own right, has been nothing short of phenomenal in helping me promote my stuff. Leigh Wynnfield and Dee S. Knight, to name a couple of talented fellow writers, have been supportive and encouraging -- and have sat on me when I lose patience about life in general; which I'm afraid happens more often than I'd like to admit . . .

Mostly writing, family time and kid sporting events. My paying job is as a freelance journalist and copywriter. I'm blessed to have a lot of repeat clients -- always a good sign as a writer! Otherwise, I'm chauffeuring my son to something. Right now it's hockey and basketball -- sunbelt hockey is interesting because you leave from a freezing hockey rink into a 95-degree day. Other than that, I spend a lot time with my soul mate of 18 years (we've been married for 17 of those) and our son; we like hanging out together. If I'm working on a book, it's not uncommon for me to get up somewhere around 5:30 a.m. to have an hour or two devoted just to fiction writing.

When I was younger, I read a lot of gothic and historical romances (I don't write them though) -- R.F. Delderfield was an English author who I liked a lot. As an adult, my reading tastes vary. I go through a "Stephen King" phase, get tired of that, then move to a "Daphne DuMaurier" phase, get tired of that and so on. Recently, I've been reading a lot of "female detective" types from authors like Sue Grafton, Janet Evanovich and Karen Kijewski. No one has really influenced me, I basically pull from everyone.

Yes -- Mixed Media, will be released sometime this fall from Amber Quill Press, and I'm working on some other ideas, one of which is "Jewish erotic inspirational" along the lines of "Double Mitzvah," but somewhat darker in tone. I've had some suggestions from readers who would like to see a sequel to Power Play (I'm toying with giving hockey goalie Adam Creighton his own story) and some even suggested doing a story about Judith Aldin-Paige, Edward's evil sister from Backstage Affair. That one really intrigues me.

I've been lucky enough to make a living off my journalism/copywriting for more than a decade now and I'd be lying if I didn't say that I'd love to be saying the same thing about my fiction writing ten years down the road.

The only thing I can say is keep trying, be dedicated and definitely schedule daily writing time, no matter what job you do. Also, remember that writing is subjective and being published involves being in the right time and right place with the right idea. Just because an editor or publisher rejects your work doesn't mean the next one will, so as hard as it might be to do sometimes, just keep submitting and writing.

Yes, this is the "shameless self promotion" portion of this interview. I invite everyone to stop by my website (I get on there every so often and update it, LOL) and please e-mail me with feedback. I WILL answer! Also, stop by the Author's Red Room and Writers Unlimited -- they do a pretty good job of keeping my reviews and excerpts up to date (those that I forget to put on my website, that is).

Thank you for your time, JoAnn!