Lori: I've been married for 22 years to a wonderful man and we have three sons, ages 19, 15, and almost 14. My boys are pretty darned wonderful, too! (And that's not just a mother's natural bragging. *grin*) At the moment, most of my personal interests center around whatever the kids are doing - my oldest is in college, engaged to be married after college, works, and coaches wrestling at the high school. He's so busy that I don't know how he does it, and still does it all well. My middle son also wrestles, does track and cross country and paint ball (his new love!), and just about anything else physical he can get involved in. My youngest is the Romeo, as interested in girls as he is in sports. He also does in wrestling, cross country, track, and baseball. So my time centers around keeping up with them, and I LOVE it. *grin* As a family, we go to the movies a lot, take a bunch of small road trips (1 or 2 day outings), and we're all very close.

Linda: What is your "Grand Passion?" What do you LOVE to do that just makes your heart sing?

Lori: I love water. Being on a beach, near a river, in a cabin by a creek. My family has a summer house on a lake in Kentucky, and I could easily live there year round. I enjoy the sun and the water and boating and skiing. It's incredibly peaceful. My biggest passions are my family, my new dog who is about the neatest pet I've ever had, and writing. I also love to paint and create bookmarks and such.

Linda: Lori, are you an avid reader like the rest of us? If so, what do you enjoy reading for fun and relaxation?

Lori: I don't read as much now as I did in the past. These days, if I want to read, I often end up writing and reading my own words. Isn't that pathetic!? But I do read whenever I don't have a deadline, and sometimes between deadlines. I read only romance. Favorite authors include Linda Howard, Virginia Kantra, Stella Cameron, Johanna Lindsey ... and many, many more.

Linda: Were you ever a "struggling" author? How long did it take you to get published and what was your reaction when you got that first "good news?" And maybe you could give a few "words of wisdom" to our up-and-coming authors at RBL.

Lori: I'm STILL a struggling author! *grin* I doubt the struggle ever ends and it's really tough to find validation in this business. I love RBR - an online loop - and my aol folder, where I can hear from readers and talk to other writers. I wrote over 10 complete manuscripts before selling. I wrote for over 5 years before selling. After selling, I had a lot of problems getting "settled in." I switched editors, switched agents, got rejections and disappointments ... So yes, I've most definitely struggled! In fact, by the time I got news of my first sale I'd given up so many times I almost didn't care. I was more relieved than thrilled. It meant I could continue spending money on writing without guilt. And writing IS expensive, especially if it's just a hobby, which I had begun to consider it. Paper, ink, postage ... it can add up if you haven't sold and aren't seeing anything in return.

Words of wisdom? Write what you want to write. Forget what everyone tells you about rules and markets. If your heart isn't 100% in a book, then what's the point? Create your own niche. You CAN do it. I recently did a Writer's Digest article on this, if anyone is interested. I believe strongly in writing for yourself first, then with a dream of getting published.

Linda: What is the funniest or most embarrassing thing to happen related to your writing?

Lori: I once tentatively titled a book after a song, without thinking of the connotations put to a romance. It was ELI'S COMING. *grin* Editors called me up to laugh at me! And this was before getting published. That book eventually became my one and only electronic book, BRAZEN, sold through DiskUs. I've made lots of other goofs - don't doubt it - but that one always stands out in my mind.

Linda: What is your "creative process" like? Where do you get your ideas?

Lori: Ideas bombard me all the time. Everything gives me ideas - a commercial, a lady jogging down the road, a grouchy neighbor, anything. I start with a situation between a man and woman - often something risque and fun and risky, and then I build a story around it by asking myself a lot of 'what ifs' and considering a lot of 'maybes.' It isn't really a conscious process, just something my mind wings through.

Linda: Do you have another job or are you able to dedicate yourself to writing?

Lori: I'm a full time writer. With 8 and 9 books out a year, I'd have to be! *grin*

Linda: Your theme of "family" is always strong and consistent in your stories (the Winstons and Hudsons, etc.). What has given you this inspiration to keep it of central importance in your work?

Lori: My own family, my husband and kids. It's what I want, what I require for us. What I'm lucky enough to have. My extended family is full of quirks, some sad and some outrageous. Few supportive. Few strong. I saw what was missing when I was a child, and knew I'd do whatever I could to make a difference for my own family when I grew up and married. I think I have. My husband is wonderful, my kids are exceptional. Or at least I think so. (Mother's pride, obviously!) They have their flaws, as I do, as my characters do. But at the core, they are honorable and responsible and kind and gentle and intelligent and reasonable and moral. They make mistakes, but they don't deliberately hurt anyone or themselves. I'm about as lucky a person can get.

Linda: How do you fashion such warm and sensitive heroes, who are so passionate and devoted to their loves, and yet still have that bit of rogue in them? That seems a feat of magic in itself!

Lori: They're all my husband. (Laughing) No, really. In some way, in the important ways, they all are. My husband is about the funniest guy around. I fell in love with him on the third day of our sophomore year of high school because he made me laugh. He's been making me laugh through thick and thin for years. I've stayed with him because he's a rock, emotionally, physically, romantically. He's always there for me and the boys. With appearances, there are differences between him and the heroes I write. I mean, I write really, really hunky heroes! And my husband and I are both now 42. But at heart, they're all him. I often get asked if men like that really exist. They do. I have one, and I'm raising three others.

Linda: Do you ever use personal experiences or people you know when writing your books?

Lori: Oh sure. How could I not? I'm a product of my environment, so then is my creativity. I draw from experiences and from the people around me, the situations around me, and mold them into a story. Sometimes. Other times ,it's just something out of nowhere that popped into my brain. *grin*

Linda: Being a new fan of your work, can you tell me if you've ever done, or are you ever going to do, a single title book (not a category)?

Lori: I have two single titles lined up with Harlequin, due out September 01 and September 02. The one in 02 is Casey Hudson's story, from the Buckhorn Brothers. In October 02, all four of the Buckhorn brothers will be reissued as a trade paperback.

I also have a single title due out with Berkley - WILD, Zane Winston's story. It will be out in January 02. And Berkley has decided to reissue all three novellas featuring the Winston brothers, previously published in separate anthologies, together as one book, THE WINSTONS, in December 01.

Linda: And finally, what can we look forward to in your coming books and when we can expect them?

Lori: Lots and lots of stuff! In March 01, a double Duets, with characters taken from LITTLE MISS INNOCENT?, my Desire book. Annie Sawyer is in ANNIE GET YOUR GUY, and Max Sawyer is in MESSING AROUND WITH MAX. Then: in May, SEX APPEAL, a Temptation Heat, in August, HOT AND BOTHERED, a St. Martin's anthology, in September, CAUGHT IN THE ACT, a Harlequin single title that features Mick Dawson from BETUILED (an older book), October and November are follow-up Temptations to CAUGHT IN THE ACT, not yet titled but with characters from the single title, and also in October, ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT, a Kensington anthology.

Happy reading!