A: When I was six years old I wrote a short story which won a writing contest. It was published by a local newspaper and I even got paid a few pounds for it. From that point forward I knew that I was going to seek a career in writing. Also, my mother provided great encouragement, often force feeding me the classics to read. As such an avid reader, I found it natural to write as a progression from reading all those books by Dickens, the Brontes and Hemingway.

Q: What authors do you personally admire and why?

A: My favorite book that I’ve read in my lifetime is Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. This is the best book ever written in the English language. Of modern authors, I adore Patricia Cornwell and Bernard Cornwell. I don’t get to read a whole lot between my writing and editing, but I love when authors take the time to research their subjects and provide the reader with some history behind their characters and locations.

Q: If you were giving a budding author some advice, what would that advice be?

A: My best advice for any writer is to keep writing and constantly work to improve on your work. Too many aspiring writers are good at creating the words on a page, but they are poor at editing their own work. Polishing your writing is something all good authors learn to perfect. It is crucial that writers go back to the pages they’ve composed and recognize their flaws. It takes great talent to write an inventive story, but it takes a degree of objectivity to rework your ideas and tidy up any imperfections. Secondly, I encourage all writers to learn who your characters are, before putting your story on paper. As the author, one should know the complete history of the characters, up to and beyond the point where your story takes place. Your story is only as good as the characters. Get to know them before you share their personality with your audience.

Q: Your books are solidly about normal people in abnormal situations, and their ability to rise up against the adversities of life. Was this basically creative thought, or was this an outcome of your own experiences in life?

A: As a young reporter I found myself an ordinary person in an extraordinary position. I was seventeen and a woman in a newsroom dominated by middle aged men. Using my determination and talent, I pushed hard to overcome perceptions and succeed. Often I use bits of myself, or people close to me in creating my characters for my novels. In many ways, Emma Harte contains aspects of my personality. When I went to write Emma’s Secret and revisit with Emma, it occurred to me just how alike she and I can be in some situations. Authors are at their best when they write about people and situations they are familiar with. Also, it is important as a writer to paint a picture that is believable to the reader. You want to give your audience situations that they can relate to. Therefore, I strive to create scenarios that a wide audience can picture without too much difficulty. Not to say that my stories lack sophistication, but they do take place in settings we can easily imagine.

Q: You have written some nonfiction books, primarily in home decoration. Have you other ideas in nonfiction writing on the horizon?

A: I recently came out with a book called Living Romantically Every Day. This was a nonfiction book about how to succeed in relationships. It was based on my personal experience and my 40-year marriage. This was a fun project to work on, having always been constantly asked by readers about how to make relationships work. In that book I also threw in some ideas for decorating a romantic home, romantic recipes and my favorite romantic places to travel. Having been a journalist before a novelist, I’ve always enjoyed writing nonfiction. My early decorating books and children’s books were projects that I remain proud of. In a few years down the road I plan to write an autobiography. That should be another change of pace from the fiction I constantly am dreaming up.

Q: If you hadn’t been so successful as a writer, what would have been your second choice as a life’s career?

A: BTB: I never really thought about a career other than being a writer. I suppose my familiarity with classic novels would qualify me to be a decent librarian. I also love to decorate and to cook. I could have made for a classy home decorator, or a fair chef. In my limited free time I love to redesign a room in my apartment or whip up a gourmet meal for Bob, or my friends

Interview Date: November 2003
Profile and questions compiled by Rosanne L., Matthews Branch Library