Answering Some Questions From My Inbox

I figure if I’m getting a question, then others have the same question.  So I thought I’d answer them today.  If you have additional questions, don’t be shy about commenting below.  :-)

1.  Will you write about any of the secondary characters in Substitute Bride?

Yes, I do, though not this year.  I don’t know when I’ll get to my next Florida Contemporary Romance.  I plan to include Nick Hammond (Lexie’s fiance in Runaway Bride) and Blake Rogers (Lexie and Caitlyn’s brother) in that series.  So you’ll see Caitlyn and Lexie and their children in Blake’s book.  I don’t know if they’ll make an appearance in Nick’s story, but since Blake is their brother, they’re guaranteed to show up at some point.

At the moment, I have plans for five more books in the Florida series.  (The Florida series takes place in the same area of Florida–the panhandle along Fort Walton Beach–that the Across the Stars Series takes place.)  In Substitute Bride, I introduced Nita (Alexandra’s best friend), Camden (the guy who was skinny as a rail but ate all the time), and Greg (Kevin’s best friend).  Nita does not end up marrying the guy she was dating in Substitute Bride, which is why I never gave him more than a simple mention.  I’m not sure who she ends up with.  It could be Greg or Camden or someone else, like Blake or Nick.

What I do know is that Tammy (the evil girl in Substitute Bride) and Troy (the guy who was there to make Kevin jealous by flirting with Alex) end up together.  And I’m going to pair them up in a very implausible, totally unrealistic, BUT extremely fun plotline.  Sorry guys.  Sometimes fun and laughter trump realism when I write books.

Needless to say, I have years to go before I finish with this series, just as I have years before I finish with the Larsons in Nebraska.  I’m just taking a break from the Larsons at the moment, though I’m hoping Kent will get his chance to be with Rose Larson before the year is up.

I really enjoy putting characters in one series into another series, and now that I have enough series out, I can easily do this.  So start looking for some secondary characters in one series being featured in a different one.  :-)

2.  I want to wait until you’re done with the Nebraska series so I can read all the books in order.  When will you be done with it?

I have no idea.  I have about 30 more books to write, and honestly, I suspect I’ll die before I finish the series.  I’ll probably be typing one of the books when it’s my time to go.  Not to be morbid or anything.  :-)  I just came to accept that the more I write, the more ideas I get.  What was supposed to be one book (Eye of the Beholder) before I turned my attention back to the characters in the Virginia series pretty much turned into a lifelong project.

Believe it or not, I originally had plans to write about Agnes Brothers and Alex Dawson (from Falling In Love With Her Husband).  I also wanted to write about Kate Tanner (aka Kate Walker)’s brother Billy, but that never panned out.  Billy, however, might eventually find his way out west with a Larson or Craftsman girl.  ;-)

I also can’t guarantee when I’ll be completely done with any other series I’ve started.  I never know when a character is going to pop up and want their own story.

3.  Do you really think it’s necessary to put sex in your books?  

Yes, I do.  If you’d rather avoid sex scenes, I suggest another author.

4.  Did women ever go to Pandoran (Mark and Chris’ world in the Across the Stars series) to help populate the world with female offspring?

Yes.  I envision a group of women from Alaris who will agree to go there.  In fact, it might be a situation where males on Alaris become unable to have children.  But I don’t know if or when I’ll get around to writing it.  The focus would be on romance, rather than the sci-fi part, something that would probably upset the sci-fi fans but that’s the way the cookie crumbles.  As fun as it is to mix genres up, I don’t like to get techy in the sci-fi thing.

5.  What?  Mixing genres?  What are you talking about?

I thought I’d answer this before someone asks.  :-)  I love a variety of genres and I read a variety of genres.  I have blended them into some of my romances, though the focus always remains in the romance area.

For example, Brave Beginnings, Her Counterfeit Husband, and Shotgun Groom were romance mixed with thriller elements.

Though it probably seems morbid, my favorite scene in Brave Beginnings (besides the scene where Gary takes Julia to meet Chogan in the middle of the night) is when Ernest grips the wine glass in his hand and cuts his hand so blood drips to the floor.  Ernest had a surprising dark side, and that was the scene where I realized just how dark he truly was.  Originally, he was supposed to end up with Millicent.  But there was no redeeming him.  I especially enjoyed the comparison between the “refined white gentleman” who was really a savage versus the “savage redskin” who was really a gentleman.  I love to throw in comparisons like that.  Just like when I compared true beauty that is often overlooked to the superficial beauty that is often praised in Eye of the Beholder (Mary vs. Cassie).

I could go on, but this post is getting long.

Other mixing of genres is romance and fantasy (His Abducted Bride), romance and science fiction (Suddenly a Bride, I especially enjoy the discussion about how Pandoran ended up without women in that book), romance and humor (I have too many of these to count but I probably enjoyed A Most Unsuitable Earl and An Inconvenient Marriage the most).

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Since I’m at the 1000 word mark for this post, I’ll end it here.  If any more questions come to mind, I’ll put them in another post.  And like I said earlier, if you have any, feel free to comment.  :-)