What inspired you to begin writing, and what has your publishing journey been like along the way to becoming a #1 New York Times bestselling author?

My husband was in medical school then, so we scarcely saw each other. I read about ten novels a week. Then one night, I threw the book across the room and said I could do better. I told my husband I wanted to write a book, and he said to go for it. He took the next weekend off, and we plotted a Regency romance, the first and last time this happened. I sold it to New American Library, their Signet Imprint, the “premier” Regency novel imprint. I was blessed with my editor and moved smartly forward. My first historical romance book hit the New York Times bestseller list eight years later. Talk about champagne and dancing on the ceiling. I’ve never looked back, and bless all the powers that be. It’s been a glorious dance ever since.

“I’ve never looked back, and bless all the powers that be. It’s been a glorious dance ever since.”

Your recent historical collection of novellas, THE GRAYSON SHERBROOKE OTHERWORLDLY ADVENTURES, is set in the mid-nineteenth century. Is there something particular about this time that is fascinating?

Once I stopped writing historical romances, I still wanted to keep my hand in, so I began writing a novella a year. I chose Grayson Sherbrooke, a published Stephen King kind of author in my Sherbrooke series, and he was well-known to my historical romance readers. He has Otherworldly Adventures in reality, just as he does in his books. I had to set the novellas in 1841, not because I particularly like the early Victorian era, but because Grayson had to “ripen” a bit. He had to be old enough to have life experience, and being a widower with a five-year-old son named Pip certainly ripened him enough.

What is your favorite thing about connecting with your readers and fans?

Ah, this is super easy. People are very gracious and openly tell me of their pleasure in reading my books. I interact today primarily on Facebook, posting daily and putting up view photos from my daily hikes on the bay near the Golden Gate. There’s never a sucky view or picture. Over the years, my Reader Facebook Page has become a community center where people have gotten to know each other, and there’s lots of interaction. Everybody cares about everybody else. It’s always loads of fun. And the biggie? They love my books.

“Everybody cares about everybody else. It’s always loads of fun.”

How has it been working with your editor Rick Bleiweiss and the team at Blackstone Publishing on your book THE GRAYSON SHERBROOKE OTHERWORLDLY ADVENTURES?

Blackstone has been an excellent publisher, and I always get a kick out of Rick. Plus, he’s a fun author with his early twentieth-century English mysteries with Pignon Scorbion (try to say that name).

“Important—don’t take yourself too seriously, and have fun.”

Any advice for hopeful writers looking to become published authors?

Read widely, and be disciplined. No procrastinating. Sit your butt in your chair every single day and produce new pages. Important—don’t take yourself too seriously, and have fun.

Can you finish this sentence? I love writing because…

…because I can’t be an astronaut.