What is the title of your newest book? How many books have you published?
My newest published book is That Last Weekend. I have 21 published books.
How did you develop your character and choose your location?
I develop my characters and choose my locations differently with each novel. It depends on what the book is about, and what kind of book it is. Mostly, I prefer to use locations that I'm familiar with (and I'm familiar with a lot since I grew up in an Air Force family and then spent 20 years as an Air Force officer) because I'm lazy and don't want to have to do a lot of research. :-)
What is a day in the life of an author like? Do you write a certain number of words, do you write in the morning or evening?
Writing is my job, so I get up every morning, take a walk, eat breakfast, and sit down at my desk. I write at least 2000 words a day when I'm drafting, and then I work on the business end of things, like doing blog posts, newsletters, social media stuff, etc.
Do you belong to a writers group or are you in touch with other writers? How does that help your writing?
I'm a member of Sisters in Crime (and former President of the organization), and a founding member of Career Authors.com, a blog for writers, so I'm in touch with other writers frequently. I also exchange critiques with a writer friend. It helps me to have someone to bounce ideas off of, and also to realize that everyone struggles with every book, no matter how many books they've published, or how experiences they are.
Do you model your character after yourself or any one you know?
I do not model my characters off of myself of anyone I know. I might use a gesture I've observed from someone, and verbal tics from someone else, but I don't ever base a character on a real person.
If your books were made into a movie, who would you want to play the lead character?
If the book I'm working on now, The Empty Nesters Club, were to be made into a movie, I'd want Amy Poehler to play Samantha, Jason Bateman to be Elliott, Allison Janney to be June, and Zoe Saldana to be Coral. Dream casting!
Who is your favorite author?
John Steinbeck.
How do you keep track of character details from book to book so they are consistent?
I use a different notebook for every book, and I keep track of character details in there. Each main character gets a few pages when I first start developing the book, and I go back to the notebook when I get halfway through the manuscript and can't remember if my character had blue eyes or brown eyes, or if her first husband was named Zach or Zeke--stuff like that.
If you could not be an author, what would like to do as a career?
I'd be an event organizer if I couldn't be an author, or maybe a personal trainer. I'd like to have more people contact than I have as a writer, but I'd like to keep a semi-flexible schedule, too.
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