What was the inspiration for writing On Silent Wings? 
I’m fascinated with historic England, in particular the Restoration period. Reading about the Great Fire of London and discussing the premise with friends led to the idea of a heroine who loses her voice from hot smoke—a larynx issue discovered and healed by a Jewish doctor.  I also love a tortured hero. Alex is an embittered widower whose deep protective instincts are cloaked on Katherine as he helps her regain her voice.

For the future, do you see yourself continuing to write historicals or is there another genre you'd like to try? 
I like historicals for the opportunity to portray rich history around my  characters. The time period itself is a wonderful setting—almost a character in itself. My second manuscript was a contemporary romantic suspense, and I may dig it out someday to revise it. 

Why do you write?
Getting deep within a story is relaxing to me. I write for the joy of writing.

Who are some of your favorite authors? 
Lauren Royal is a major inspiration for me. Cathy Maxwell’s characters are wonderful and her stories are warm and exciting.  Mary Balogh’s novel, Silent Melody, helped give me the courage to write about a mute heroine. Terry Brooks and John Grisham are two of my favorite authors. I really like Stephen King—he packs a plot with splendid, hair-curling details.

Who would your books appeal to?
Adult women who love a strong but hero needing love and care, and who relate to a heroine who exceeds what she thinks she can accomplish and discovers she’s pretty darn strong.

How did you learn how to write romance fiction?
After I wrote my first manuscript and discovered that maybe it wasn’t quite (well, not at all) ready for the New York Times best seller lists, I bought Leslie Wainger’s Writing a Romance Novel for Dummies. After that, I read Donald Maass’ Writing the Breakout Novel, and attended his workshop. Other books that have helped me learn to write are Debra Dixon’s Goal, Motivation & Conflict and Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey 2nd Edition. I attend conferences and workshops and take online classes, and read romance novels with a critical eye. And the best way to learn to write is to write. 

How did you make your first sale? 
I sent a synopsis and query to The Wild Rose Press. An editor there requested a partial, then a full, and then offered me a contract. It was all pretty quick compared to New York publishers because The Wild Rose Press is an epublisher. They are a great bunch of people who, while extremely picky over what they'll accept for publication, embrace an author like family once accepted.

Do you have a writing routine? 
Not really. I write whenever I can. I keep an AlphaSmart with me as well as paper and pen handy. 

How many pages per day are you able to turn out? 
Sometimes two or three, sometimes a fraction of a page. Depends on the time and energy I have to write.

How much research goes into your books? 
A great deal of research goes into my files, which is then filtered into my story. I try to be historically accurate, although I took liberties with the idea of a doctor in the seventeenth century being able to see a person’s larynx. The Jewish doctor in my book has a contraption he and his brother invented, a tapering brass tube with tiny mirrors and a special bright candle to send light deep within the throat. The truth is that the equipment needed to look as the larynx wasn’t invented until the 1800s.

When you start a new book, which comes first - the characters or the plot? 
Both. The characters drive the plot, but they need to know where they’re going.

Do you plot everything out in advance, or just let it flow? 
I do a little of both. When I try to plot the whole story, or do a scene and sequence, or fill in a spreadsheet of chapters and scenes and whose point of view to be in for each scene, it all usually falls apart when the characters take over and propel the story based on their personalities and motivations. I do have a basic idea of what I want to happen at the beginning, middle, and end, because if I don’t I’ll end up writing far more than I need to. The characters are the drivers, but they need a GPS (me) to get them there. 

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?  
I was at one of Nora Roberts’s book signing events at her Turn the Page Bookstore, and I asked that same question. She said to write what you love, and love what you write. Writing what I love keeps me enthusiastic about the craft. I’m not writing to a market, but hoping what I write is what others would like to read. 
Bob Mayer said to read first novels by new authors. The stories are fresh and fabulous; they have to be to make that first sale in this crowded market.

Write the entire manuscript (better yet—write several manuscripts) before pursuing publication, whether through agencies, editors, or contests. A writer will learn a great deal about herself and how she writes just by writing the book. Read, listen, learn, ask questions. Always be writing. Pick the brains of the greats; they were once aspiring authors, too. 
Get opinions from readers who will give honest critiques. Rejection hurts, as does criticism, but in the end the writing will be stronger and better than before. That thick skin writers talk about developing is integral to a writing career. Keep writing. And don’t ever, ever quit. 
Write not because you want to get published, or get rich, or win contests. Write because you have a story to tell and you’ll go crazy if you don’t get it out.