Good morning Ms Ballou, I would like to thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to answer these questions!


First, let me ask you a little about yourself, I read that you are a grandmother. What's your favorite part of being a grandma?

LOL, everything about being a grandma is fantastic. I've just spent two weeks with my grandson, Ben, who turned two in December. Even though I'm a writer, I don't know enough words of praise to describe him. And I've just found out that Ben is going to become a big brother in September! I'm jumping up and down with excitement in grandma fashion.

I just wish my son and his family lived closer. I live in Northern California, they live in Northern England. Also wish my daughter, who lives in New Jersey, was closer.

But I enjoy everyone when I'm with them. And talk on the phone a lot.

What makes your day? Is it a funny email? Making your word count goal for the day? What makes a good day a good day for you?

Having my family around is in first place. But luckily lots of other things make a good day. Making my word count goal -- or exceeding it! -- is great. I love being "in the flow" with my writing, feeling that it's going smoothly. Also, I love it when I find a way to deal with a plot problem. My favorite is when the characters "take over" and tell me exactly how they want their story to be written.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

After many years as a beauty queen pursued by Hollywood casting agents... Oops, I thought I was starting another story.

Let's see. After living in New Jersey for many hundreds of years, I met Consort, aka my personal hero, who convinced me to come out to California. Here I've grown very accustomed to great weather (spoiled) and a whole different culture. I've been a teacher for many years and currently teach ESL (English as a Second Language) to adults four nights a week in addition to my writing. I love books -- reading them and writing them.

I've noticed that you write under a few psudonyms. Would you mind explaining why and telling us which ones are you?

In addition to being Mardi Ballou, I write as Meg Bellamy. In general, my Meg Bellamy books are more mainstream, my Mardi Ballou books are more sensuous. As both I write romance and women's fiction.

Are you only writing for Ellora's Cave? How is it working with them?

I write much of my work for Ellora's Cave, but I also write for other publishers. Ellora's Cave is a fabulous publisher to write for. There's a lot of energy and creativity percolating all the time. And a lot of room to explore ideas.

Do you have a certain ritual you perform before writing? Like turning on a specific type of music for a type of story.

Unless I'm traveling and thus working on my Alphie (an Alpha-Smart) or from hard copy of manuscripts, I do write in one place, the office I share with my Consort. Currently I listen to a classical music station on the radio for most of my writing time. This is because I don't want to deal with CDs (yeah, a bit sedentary). I tend to start off my writing time by checking e-mail. This, as you can imagine, can be dangerous. So I have to be very strict about cutting of my e-mail time. Depending on what stage of a project I'm on, I may set word count goals (for first drafts) or other goals (in subsequent drafts or during edits). I'm very faithful about checking on whether I've met goals and rewarding myself when I have.

Can you tell us more about the third in the Pantasia series, Forever on the Isle of Never?

Yes. Forever on the Isle of Never, which I think of as Nan's story, is my first ever book focused on "mature" romance -- with both an older heroine and hero. In Pantasia II, readers briefly met Nan Sullivan, who played an important role in helping Peter Payne be ready when he met his real love. Now Nan gets her turn, and this gal has been waiting a long time. Pete and his girlfriend, Lily, invite Nan to work as resident potter for the resort they're developing off the coast of Chile. This is a major adventure for Nan, who's never before been outside the U.S. Once there, she meets Mike Darlin, the head of construction. Tempers flare, sparks fly -- and the two of them discover a whole new side to life and love. I'm really excited that Ellora's Cave will release this book this coming Weds., April 20. Can't wait to hear what readers think.

What do you have in store for the Comte in the next installment of the Young Vampires in Love series? Would it be cheating to ask?

Oh ho. Would it be cheating? The Comte wouldn't mind a bit of bending a rule here or there... In Young Vampires in France, the Comte allows Monique de la Chauve-souris far too deeply into his business affairs and his heart. As Darlene and Lynette could have told him, if only he'd asked, that vamp is up to no good. Which she soon proves, leaving the Comte in a precarious situation... Luckily he has his San Francisco friends to call on. With their help, well, this is as much as the Comte is prepared to let me reveal today...

Are there any other books in the works? If so, could you give us a bit of a sneak peek?

Hmm, yes. I've just been working on a sequel to my Feb., 2004 Quickie, "Photo Finish". K.C. Berrigan, the writer sister of Cassandra, the heroine in "Photo Finish" gets some help from a friend -- and finds herself in a whole new century, where life is very different. A fantastic hero, better than any she's ever imagined, comes to her rescue. And she comes to his!

I'm also working on a "bad boy" novella and another Young Vampires story. And I've got lots more ideas waiting to come out!

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Thank you so much for asking great questions! I wish everyone a great day!

Thank you so much for answering these questions, I really appreciate it! If you'd like to check out Ms. Ballou's books, you can see them at both Ellora's Cave, http://www.ellorascave.com/AuthorsBooks.asp?AuthorCode=MaB, and on her website, http://www.mardiballou.com/. Thanks again.


Interviewed by: Serena