Do you want to write for a living?

I think I’d be terrible at meeting deadlines, but it is one of my dream jobs (the other- being the principal flautist in the Boston Pops!).

Have you ever won an award for your writing?

When I was in elementary and middle school I won several fine arts festival and young author’s contest awards. I have the medal I won in 1989 in my desk as a reminder of what’s possible through imagination.

Ever written anything in script or play format?

No, that is my husband’s specialty. He studied film in college and if you read some of the stuff he wrote as a child, it seems like he’s always written in screenplay format.

What are your five favorite words?

besotted, poesy, spectacular, jurisprudence, imagination

Do you ever write based on yourself?

Sometimes, although I don’ t think my characters are blatenly me. I try to keep it subtle, unlike Clive Cussler or Garrison Keillor, who have literally written themselves into their stories.

What character have you created that is most like yourself?

Liz Grayson, a legal secretary in Fields of Honor

Where do you get ideas for your characters?

From observing people, the news, “what if” scenarios, and if all else fails I make them up!

Do you write based on your dreams?

Sometimes. Usually my dreams are intensely character driven. I hardly ever know the setting of my dreams, but I can vividly see people and their interactions. The most memorable dream I had that I turned into a story was one where I dreamt I was a French prisoner of war in a concentration camp during World War II.

Do you favor happy endings or cliff hangers?

I love tragic romance, like Remains of the Day, so I’d usually rather not have the happy ending. Cliff hangers, I’m not sure about. I hate it when a story just ends and leaves you wanting more, but at the same time it’s kind of cool because it makes the reader a more active part of the story because you can draw your own conclusion about the ending. But an abrupt ending just to end a story is a cop out.