Christina: Thank you for interviewing me! I've lived in California, Oregon and Idaho. Now I live in Texas with my two daughters and my husband of twenty-eight years - who says love doesn't last? *g* I read, I work out (which I hate!), I travel as much as possible and love it, I talk on the phone way too much, mostly to my friends, both writing and non-, but occasionally if a salesperson calls and the book is going badly, I'll chat with him.

Joey: What first got you interested in writing romance? How did you get your first book published?

Christina: I've always loved to read (Laura Ingalls Wilder started me off) and after reading just everything as a teenager, I discovered I liked romance best. Then, because I'm not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, I thought - how hard can it be to write one? The answer is - very hard. But by the time I'd figured it out, it was way too late. When our first daughter was born, I told my husband I was going to quit work and start my new career of writing romance, because how much trouble could one little infant be?

I always like to pause here so people can stop snorting.

I was really awful at first. I knew I was awful, but I didn't take classes or seek help. I just kept writing and writing, hundreds of thousands of words, and finally after years and years I reached the day where I realized I could write. It was a great moment ... if only the publishing industry had reached that conclusion at the same time. But altogether, I wrote for at least ten years (with time off for having another child, cleaning, cooking, and having self-doubt) before I finally got The Call and sold CANDLE IN THE WINDOW.

That's why, when I'm asked to speak at writers' conferences on how to get published, I have always really wanted to walk up to the podium, lean into the microphone and say, "Put your butt in the chair and write," and then walk away. Because that's what it takes, persistence and the willingness to learn from your mistakes. And persistence. Did I say persistence?

Joey: As I mentioned above, you write some of the most incredibly sensual love scenes out there! One of my favorites is the desk scene in RULES OF SURRENDER. Where do those come from? How do you sit down to write your love scenes?

Christina: I don't sit down to write my love scenes. I wiggle. *g* Well, I've always said if I don't get turned on, I'm not writing the love scenes correctly. I love to write sex that pushes the boundaries, that's just a little dirty (if you'll allow me that prepubescent word), that's politically incorrect.

Can I get on my soapbox for a minute? (And Joey's thinking, "What, again?")

The reason why romance books work as the biggest part of the publishing industry is because romance writers try and hit the basic female sexual fantasy. Now, everybody's sexual fantasy's going to be a little different, which explains why there are so many different types of romance, but what works for almost everyone is the tall, dark, arrogant guy who wants the heroine so desperately he will do anything to take her as his mate. He doesn't see her flat feet or that one nipple points up and one points down or that she snorts when she laughs. Or rather, he sees all that, but he adores it anyway, because he must, absolutely must, take her, reproduce with her, and care for and protect her for the rest of their lives.

Men have their biological fantasies, too, mostly comprised of a tall, blonde, big-breasted, anonymous woman who finds them one evening, screws them until midnight, then turns into a beer and a pizza. Let's face it, the longest running series of popular movies ever made is just one big male sexual fantasy - can you say James Bond?

The female romance fantasy works all over the world. I publish in nine languages, everywhere from Taiwan to Germany to Lithuania (Lithuania?), which proves to me that this model of sexual fantasy is not cultural, but biological. No romance reader should have to apologize for her fantasies. No woman should worry whether what works for her in the privacy of her home (or at the dentist's office or the laundromat or whatever) is politically correct. So there.

Um, what was the question again?

Joey: I've noticed quite a few of your stories take after 'famous tales', such as RULES OF ENGAGEMENT's similarity to "The King and I." How do these ideas pop in your head? Do you start out writing to model around a particular tale or does it just happen? And what other stories have you used to inspire new plots?

Christina: I've never had an original idea in my life. But I'll go further - neither has anyone else. Everybody makes up stories, and all of those stories come from a movie, a book, a newspaper article, or an event in history. "The King and I" was based a novel, ANNA AND THE KING OF SIAM, which was based on a real story. "Camelot" was based on MORTE d'ARTHUR, which was based on medieval lore.

I seek ideas that intrigue me and keep my interest, and give them the twist that makes them my own. When I was plotting RULES OF ATTRACTION, I wanted to use the standard gothic story about a governess who goes to a spooky castle where the hoary old retainer tells her the master killed his wife. There was a blinding flash of light (you probably thought it was a meteor) when I thought, "But the governess knows he didn't, because she IS his wife!" Muahahahaha!

Oh, sorry, I was distracted. Moments of brilliance occur so seldom that I love to relive them.

I absolutely love to use the visuals from movies, because it brings the scene vividly to the reader's mind. In RULES OF SURRENDER, I tried to base the way Wynter stood and moved on Yul Brynner in "The King and I," because he was so distinctive. Fabulous!

Joey: Your current novel is the fourth in your Governess Bride series. Can you tell us about it? I'd love to know characters, relation to previous novels in the series, and the basic storyline.

Christina: IN MY WILDEST DREAMS is the beginning of a new trilogy that's connected to the Governess Brides. Our heroine, Celeste, is the gardener's daughter at Blythe Hall, a large English country estate. As she grows up, she falls in love with the charming, younger son. She's sent to learn to be a governess at the Distinguished Academy of Governesses, then on to France to work. There she develops polish, poise, beauty, and fashion sense ... but she still loves the younger son, and when she's called back to Blythe Hall, she goes with the intention to win his heart. Garrick, the dark, pragmatic, older brother, has other plans.

Think Sabrina meets James Bond.

Joey: What are your plans for future novels? Will there be more Governess Brides books? Also, are all your backlist books in print currently? For any that aren't, do you know if there's plan to re-release them?

Christina: I always have more plots than I have time to write. The book I'm writing now is the tie-up for the second trilogy of the Governess Brides, and it's going to lead into a series about the royal family of Dalgety, a Celtic island nation. During an upheaval in the country, the royal children were sent into exile and lost track of each other. I want to tell how they find romance and return home.

My backlist is in print except for my contemporary, LADY IN BLACK. The story is dated now, but I own the rights and who knows? Maybe someday someone will want to pay me a fortune to rewrite it. *g*

Joey: As a closer, do you have any advice for potential writers here at RBL that you'd like to share?

Christina: Put your butt in the chair and write.