I’ve always loved a sweet romance where old friends come back together and find each other again. Add in Christmas, snow, and all sorts of goodies and you have the makings of a wonderful holiday romance.

In writing The Gingerbread Lodge, what was the most fun? Figuring out which cookies to use and which ones to leave out. I’ve always loved to bake – it’s a stress reliever for me – and cookies are so much fun. So many different kinds to choose from, or to invent! But I stuck with tried and true ones for this story—ones I grew up with like snickerdoodles, lemon crisps, and molasses cookies like my mom used to make.

Are you working on other books in this series? Not at the moment. I have another series I’m working on. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be another Christmas cookie one next year!

A lot. Robert Heinlein, Anne McCaffrey, Linnea Sinclair, David Eddings, Kathleen Woodiwiss—I could go on forever. I read a wide variety of books that are not limited to just romances. I pretty much read everything except horror—and maybe “literary” books like Faulkner (read him, didn’t care for him). Not my thing. But science fiction, romance, fantasy, mystery, etc. You name it, I read it. You can even go farther back and add in Nancy Drew books, Shakespeare, the Greek tragedies… and more.

In line with the answer above, I can’t pin down an exact favorite. But if I had to say something, I’d say probably cozy mysteries and romantic comedies (any era) in the style of Sandra Hill or a good futuristic like Susan Grant and Linnea Sinclair. I like a little tongue-in-cheek humor when I read. Something that makes me smile. But they all have to have a HEA.

That’s a hard one for me. It has to have meaning, of some sort. I have lists of names (and their meanings) that I often fit to the character. One thing is certain, I cannot write the story until I know their names. And once I settle on a name, it doesn’t change.

Very early in the morning. I’m definitely a morning person—I’m usually up around five or five-thirty (with no alarm clock) and use that time before my husband is up to write and work. The dark hours before dawn are the best time of day for me. But don’t ask me to do anything after 9:30 p.m. Not going to happen. ?

Yes. All the time. I think they’re going to do one thing and…there they go, off on some tangent I never had in mind. And it usually works out better.

It depends on the story I’m writing. In this one, it was Minerva because she’s so unique. In one of my books, “Revenge Among the Stars”, SAMI, the AI, was actually my favorite character because he’s so…human. He’s a computer with attitude. In another (a fantasy with dragons), Crumb is my favorite. In another book, it will be someone else. Each book has someone I love. Someone who will stick in my mind.

Weird as it may sound, a vacation I took with my family to the ocean. I was in the middle of creating the world for another book and just couldn’t figure out the landscape, so, my kids and I sat on the beach and built a world out of sand, kind of like the guy in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”. We built mountains and rivers, towns, everything. People looked at us kind of funny, but it all worked out. The kids and I had a ball and I got my world built. I took pictures of it all before the tide washed it away to bring home.

Two things: the actual writing and the promotions. I have a ton of stories in my head, but actually sitting down and putting them on paper is often a challenge. There are some days when the words just won’t come. When you stare at the blank screen and wonder what the heck you’re going to write that’s new and different and exciting. If you’re not careful, you can become jaded after a while. And then there’s promoting your books and yourself. For a strong introvert who doesn’t travel, this can be the hardest thing in the world to do. But it’s necessary.

A little of both. I don’t plot the entire story out, but I know where I’m starting and where it’s going and a little of what happens in the middle. It’s a very loose sort of plotting.

 I get an idea and come up with a main character. Then I interview that character using a journalistic approach: Who are you? What happened? Where did it happen? Why did it happen? How did it happen? When did it happen? And so on. Once I have those questions answered, I can write the story.

I have an amazing group of writing friends. We call ourselves the Boot Squad because we kick each other’s butts if we’re not getting the work done. Of the five of us, two are my best friends and I can turn to either one of them for brainstorming. They are my worst critics and my best supporters. I’d never be able do what I do without them.

When is Lost Among the Stars due for release?