Who are your favorite authors?

I have dozens of favorite authors. Many of them are my dear friends. Linda Howard, Catherine Coulter, Kay Hooper, Dean Koontz, Ayn Rand, my son, Roy. I could go on and on.

What are your favorite books from childhood?

I was a great fan of The Secret Garden and other books by Frances Hodson Burnette. I also loved the Tarzan series. Anything that concerned animals, adventure or plain wonderful storytelling was tops on my list.

Do you live vicariously through your characters?

No, I create worlds of my own and enjoy them thoroughly but I would never intrude in those worlds. I would feel like a vampire.

Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever had a paranormal experience?

I've never had a personal experience with a spirit. Do I believe in them? I believe anything is possible and I know too many people I trust who have had such an experience. We all have had a feeling of Deja Vu in our lives and other similar feelings that are out of the realm of reality. It's all a matter of degree, isn't it?

What is your typical work day?

After breakfast I'm at the computer by eight. I continue working until one or two in the afternoon. Later I may do editing of the day's work.

What was your first pet?

My first pet was a dog, a mutt I loved named Fuzzy. Since then I've had many dogs and now I have eight. Most of them are rescue animals and I love them all. I also have feral cats on the property that I care for. I've built them a structure we call the kitty condos.

Why did you change from writing romance to crime?

I loved writing romance because I am a great fan of the happy ending. I started writing suspense because of the challenge of all the twists and in depth character studies that it offered me. I still try to incorporate a love story in all my books. It's the best of both worlds for me!