Published April 2004

RED SHOES & A DIARY -  May 1998 to October 2002

The heroine, Meghan Foster, was inspired by my own job as a Paralegal

RS&D was originally a self-published ebook called DESTINY'S DREAM  The illustrations are actually photos from the cruise vacation I took with my husband, which inspired this story.

In the first draft, the story took place on a cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico, not the Florida resort I made up for the final version.

I think Meghan looks like Halle Berry. Alex looks like a young Tom Selleck because I never missed an episode of Magnum, P.I. 

The soundtrack for this book - in other words the CD I listened to over and over again- was Toni Braxton's debut album.

This book was either rewritten or revised NINE times before it hit the book stores.

My father died three weeks after this book was released. But he read it and said he was proud of me.

It was a lot harder to make this second sale than it was the first- I figured being published was an automatic in and I was wrong.  

I finally got back on track by watching movies, including MISS CONGENIALITY. You may even recognize a scene in the book as being inspired by one from the movie <G>

Though it wasn't marketed as such, this book is a sequel to RED SHOES. It was easy to come up with the story idea since I already knew the hero so well.

This time my hero looks like Benjamin Bratt and my heroine is based on Charlize Theron. 

I was listening to Celine Dion's Falling intoYou.

Published May 2004

Published Nov 2004

I'd waited a long time - two years, in fact- to see the hero & heroine's meeting scene in print. That's because I really was stuck in an elevator for 30 minutes and had to be rescued by 8 of the Denver Fire Department's finest.

I based the heroine on Vanessa Williams and the hero on a clean shaven Blair Underwood.

This book was supposed to have been a romantic comedy, however it took on a deeper, more emotional life of its own when I began researching September 11th 

I was dealing with several personal issues while writing this book and I would never have finished it without the help and support of my Mom and creative partner, Melissa James 

I was listening to Christina Aguilera's debut album, especially the song I Turn To You.

The original title for this story was You've Got Male, but another author's book with the same title was published first soo... My editor picked a new one.

My heroine was inspired by actress Kelly Hu, while the hero is based on Josh Lucas

If I were pitching this story to Hollywood, I would say, "It's Judging Amy meets Hitch."

Rei's name is Japanese. The feminine version means "gratitude, thanks" while the male version means "law, rule". Perfect for a character who is a female judge!

I'm listening to Spanish guitarist Marc Antoine's CD Madrid, a lovely collection of instrumental ethnic jazz. 

The dating service in the story, Lunch Meetings, was inspired by both eHarmony and It's Just Lunch

April 2006