I think the biggest difference is that most of my characters are over 40. I got very tired of reading books in which the protagonists were sexual experts – and only about 25 years old! I know that’s much “prettier,” but it’s not very realistic. My characters are mature people, men who know how to please a woman and women who know how to turn a man on and keep him turned on.

And for the record, men have read my books and said that they have "something for everyone." They have more than red-hot sex - they have drama, suspense, and a crime element. And they're fun!

Other than that, when I started in these genres, I heard three main complaints:
1) “What happened to Jack? I really liked him, but I’m reading the third book and he’s nowhere to be found.” My characters don’t do that – they hang around. Most of them are friends and relatives to each other, so it’s not too hard to accomplish that.
2) “The book was so poorly written (punctuation, grammar, spelling, etc.) that I couldn’t finish it.” I was a creative writing/literature major – I try to put out quality work, and I hope it shows.
3) “I paid $3.99 (or sometimes more) for this book and it only took me 30 minutes to read it. Where’s the rest of the book?” If I write a novella, I’ll tell you it’s a novella, and it’ll only be $0.99 – otherwise, it’s a novel and it’s going to be hours of entertainment for you. I don’t shortchange my readers – ever.

I hope readers will take the time to check them out - there won't be any disappointment.

I can't remember a time when I didn't. It's just as natural to me as breathing, and it comes so easily to me that it seems a shame not to!

My latest, due out October 31, is a continuation of the story of the Walters family and their friends in Louisville, Kentucky. Nikki, whose life is half of the foundation of the Love Under Construction series, has been with me for over 12 years. I just didn't have a place to put her or anyone to leave her with. This novel series allowed me to finally give her a home. The new book is the story of Tony's cousin, Vic, and one of Steve's employees, the paths they took to where they are, and how they'll move forward. They've both had extreme difficulty in their lives; I'm no stranger to difficulty. My path has never been easy. Watching the two of them grow and heal was cathartic for me, just like Nikki and Tony's story in the first novel. I'm looking forward to the next one - it'll be just as good. It's due out spring of 2014.

I had the lovely privilege of spending an evening sitting next to the Tennessee state poet laureate. A friend introduced me to her and told her that I am a writer. She asked in which genre I wrote, and immediately asked who was going to publish my work. I told her I planned to publish it myself; she told me that is the advice she gives ALL authors. I've seen too many people give away their hard work and have it tied up in contract clauses, not to mention that they've given it away, but they still have to do their own marketing, promotion, and publicity. I'm simply not willing to pay someone to do virtually nothing for me, and I WILL NOT give up rights to my work - period.

I love getting a story out there and letting others enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

I have another series I'm getting ready to roll out called The Neighbors of Harper's Cove. They're nasty little erotica novellas, and they're a ton of fun to write and to read. At $0.99, they'll be in everyone's budget, and I hope people will hang in there and read them between the novels.

I love Clyde Edgerton, Eudora Welty, and Flannery O'Connor. Barbara Kingsolver is high on my list too. For erotica and erotic romance, I like Shayla Black, Lexi Blake, Red Phoenix, and Kallypso Masters.

My three weird little dogs. They want to eat. I have no choice but to get up and feed them!

My iPad. I go out to the swing in the backyard and take along my "stack." It's my bluetooth device on top of my smartphone on top of my iPad on top of my laptop. Yes, I'm a technology whore. I'll admit it.

Excuse me? When I'm not writing? Huh. I can take time off? I must've missed that memo.

Because they're awesome! No, really, because I spend a great deal of time crafting a well-written story with a plot that leaves you hanging and makes you want to come back. My characters are rich in personality. When you pick up one of my novels, for $4.99 you have something that will entertain you for hours. And I try to address the three most common complaints of readers (see the first question).

The third novel in the Love Under Construction series, Renovating a Heart, will be out spring of 2014, and the last in the series, Planning an Addition, will be out fall of 2014. There's also the possibility of spinning a short series of two or three novellas from the Love Under Construction series, their protagonists being characters who were minor in the main series. The Harper's Cove series will continue. Two independent novels, Adventurous Me and The Celtic Fan, will be out before May 2014. And a new series (sorry, can't divulge details yet) will begin the latter part of 2013. There may be more work coming that I don't foresee yet, so I'm open to any ideas that come along.