Rachel: I was born and raised in Boise, Idaho, where I still live. My father recently passed away, but my mother and my brother and sisters all live close by. I've been married for seventeen years, and my husband and I have three teenage children. I've worked at a lot of different jobs, none of them glamorous. The worst job I ever had was working for a disaster clean-up company. I only lasted one day. When I'm not writing ... hmm, it's been so long since I've had some free time, but I really just like to hang out around my house and talk to my family. But my favorite pasttime is buying shoes. I love to buy shoes.

Donna: How does your family feel about you writing romance - are they supportive?

Rachel: If you are asking if my family is embarrassed that I write romance, the answer is no. When SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE first came out, my son was in the fifth grade. A few girls in his class got a hold of the book and read the love scenes; then they came to school and told him I wrote porn. So he was pretty embarrassed about that - until I told him those "porn" scenes paid for his new bike. He thought about that for several minutes, and then told me to add a few more love scenes because he wanted a mini-bike next.

Donna: What kind of books do you read for pleasure? Who are some of your favorite authors?

Rachel: I read a lot of different books for pleasure. Everything from horror to biographies. My favorite authors are probably Janet Evanovich and Penelope Williamson, and my friend Stef Ann Holm. Unfortunately, I don't get to read as much as I'd like.

Donna: When did you decide to become an author and why did you choose to write romance?

Rachel: I'm not one of those people who always knew what they wanted to be when they grew up. I didn't start reading for pleasure until I was about twenty-four. I picked up my first romance novel when I was twenty-seven and have been hooked ever since. I started to write at the age of thirty, and I can't tell you why. I just sat down at a typewriter one night after I'd put my children to bed, and I began to write. That first story was a really bad historical set in the south, but I fell in love with writing. Why write romance? That's what I love to read.

Donna: How did you go about selling your first book? How long did it take?

Rachel: From the time I sat down and wrote that bad historical, to the time I sold SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE, was a little over six years. During those six years I wrote and completed four romance novels. I got twenty-six rejections, from every publisher in New York and Canada. I've been lucky in that I've always had an agent to send out my manuscripts.

Donna: Where do you get ideas for your stories?

Rachel: I don't know where the ideas come from. I just get a scene in my head and go from there.

Donna: How long does it take you to write a story?

Rachel: I'm a real slow writer and it takes me a full year to write a book.

Donna: Do you ever use personal experiences when writing your stories?

Rachel: I suppose I use little bits of myself. The prologue in SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE was me in the fourth grade. I didn't understand abstract math and I didn't get to make an igloo with the rest of the class. In TRULY MADLY YOURS, Delaney Shaw shares my shoe fettish, and in IT MUST BE LOVE, I gave Gabrielle my same belief in God.

Donna: Do you have your story planned and work from an outline? Do your characters ever try to take over and rewrite their scenes?

Rachel: When I begin a book, I do not have much of a story plan which is why I rewrite and revise constantly, and I never work from an outline. I actually did outline a book once, but when I was through I felt like I'd written the book and was bored with the story by then. I believe in letting my characters write the scenes. Which is why the first half of my books are the most difficult for me and take a long time to write. Once I'm on about page two hundred, I know the characters and the process gets a lot easier.

Donna: Do you ever find your characters in situations that are hard to write them out of?

Rachel: The only thing that comes to mind is trying to write sexual tension when there is a child in the scene. That's very tricky to pull off.

Donna: Have you ever found yourself with a case of "writer's block" while in the middle of a story? If so, how do you handle this - what helps you get beyond this problem?

Rachel: I've never had writer's block - knock on wood. But I don't have an idea for my next book, so who knows.

Donna: Do you let anyone read what you have written before you send it to your editor?

Rachel: Absolutely. I send everything I write to my friend and fellow author, Stef Ann Holm. We trade manuscripts and tell each other when something isn't working.

Donna: Your books are very funny and sensual, sometimes at the same time. Is that difficult to do?

Rachel: The sensual part is fairly difficult. As far as being funny, I don't think about it and it's not something I consciously set out to do. I just do what I do and if people think it's funny, that's great .

Donna: What is the hardest part of writing a story?

Rachel: Sitting in my office for eight hours a day without picking up the telephone. But beyond the solitude, writing the first half of a book is the hardest. It takes at least that long to get a grasp on the characters and come up with a reasonable plot.

Donna: How hard was it to write your first sex scene? Is it made any easier knowing that the majority of romance readers are female?

Rachel: Writing my first sex scene wasn't all that hard. In fact, it was fun and freeing in a way. I think each love scene gets more difficult because I am always searching for a new way of writing about sex. I mean, how many ways can you describe an orgasm without resorting to waves crashing and being transported across the heavens on downy clouds? Knowing that the majority of readers who read my sex scenes are female does not make it easier. One of those readers is my mother.

Donna: What type of research did you do for your books?

Rachel: I read a lot of research books and rent videos. But if I can't find the answer to something, I pick up the telephone. I've interviewed police and doctors and lawyers. That's one of the main reasons I don't write historical romance - too much research.

Donna: What has been your favorite question or comment by your fans?

Rachel: My favorite question is when people ask me if I draw the covers of my books. If you've ever seen me draw, you would know just how funny that is.

Donna: Were you surprised by the popularity of your books?

Rachel: I was amazed and so very grateful.

Donna: When SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE made its debut, were you disappointed with the "non-traditional" cover? (The reason I ask this question is that I almost didn't read SI until I heard the raves about the story. I recall others saying the same thing - which goes to show that you really can't judge a book by its cover. I actually like these animated covers now. *G*) Do you have much influence in the design of your covers?

Rachel: When I first saw the cover for SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE, I was too shocked to be disappointed. It was the first of what are now called the cartoon covers. I really didn't know what to think of it, other than I was just grateful it wasn't a plain orange leaf or a subtle ripple of water. As far as influence on the covers, nope. No one ever asks me. In fact, I asked that a parrot be placed next to my heroine on the cover of IT MUST BE LOVE. As you can see, I didn't get it.

Donna: Your heroes are irresistible "bad boys" who are so very, very human. Proud yet vulnerable. And always HOT! Are you drawn to this type of male? Is there a "bad boy" in your past or present?

Rachel: I think "bad boys" are incredibly hot. I would have loved to have had a bad boy in my past. Unfortunately, they weren't drawn to me - dang it.

Donna: It is fun to watch Georgeanne's character in SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE develop and grow as she overcomes obstacles, including a learning disability, to become much stronger than she ever believed she could be. Is there some of you in Georgeanne?

Rachel: As far as the dyslexia, Georgeanne is a lot like me, but that is where any resemblance ends. I hate to cook.

Donna: In TRULY MADLY YOURS, other than their inheritance, Nick and Delaney are both people who work for a living. This is a nice change from CEO's and tycoons. Was it easier writing about "real" people?

Rachel: I write about real people because they interest me. The glitz and glamor of CEO's and tycoons don't interest me, so I don't write about them. I don't care about Donald Trump or Bill Gates. I like the grit and spit of everyday life for rest of us. The hunky mechanic with greasy hands, or in Nick's case, the carpenter who likes to nail things.

Donna: The secondary characters in TMY are wonderful. Are any of them based on people in real life?

Rachel: Probably bits and pieces of a lot of different people. But the only character that comes to mind was a woman who'd been real wild in high school, but after she found Jesus she behaved as if that part of her life had never existed. I based that on my sister-in-law. I can tell you all this because she would never come over to this site, and if she did, she wouldn't admit it anyway.

Donna: With IT MUST BE LOVE, you have another hit! Gabrielle is a fun blend of enlightened innocence. Are you into "new age" ideas?

Rachel: I believe I am a spiritual person, but I don't believe you have to belong to one certain organized religion to make it into heaven. I do believe that what goes around come around. You can call that karma or fate or reaping what you sow. To me it's all the same thing.

Donna: Joe Shanahan starts out as such a pain, it was fun to watch his "downfall!" I think that his character does the most "growing" in this book. Did you see him growing and developing as you wrote the book?

Rachel: Basically, I like to torture men, and the only way I can do this is through my writing. So when I created Joe, I wanted a hero who was a bit of a chauvinist. A man's man who is looking for a down-to-earth woman to bake his bread and make his babies. And because he's a chauvinist, he must suffer and he must pay. He must have incredible, overwhelming, and incurable lust for the last woman in the world he wants. A woman who believes in auras and karma and hates house work.

Donna: As you may have noticed, RBL has a parrot as our mascot. Is there a real Sam?

Rachel: Sure, I know about your mascot, but no - there is no Sam. I did quite a bit of research on parrots, and found out that not only do they outlive their owners, they are an incredible amount of work. And besides my husband and three children, I already have two cats and a dog.

Donna: My absolute favorite scene in IMBL is when Gabrielle tells Joe that she is going to blow his mind. That is a great scene! I have to ask - where did you come up with the idea for that?

Rachel: It just sounded like something she would say. Gabrielle is a bit of a hippie chick, and it came from her character. And like I said, I'm always searching for new ways to do love scenes and different sexual dialogue between the hero and heroine. I mean, you can only write, "Oh God! Oh God!" so many times in a book before you have to think up something else.

Donna: Who are your favorite hero and heroine so far? Which were the easiest or hardest to write?

Rachel: I think my favorites are always the hero and heroine in the book that is just coming out. So right now my favorites are Joe and Gabrielle from IMBL. They were also the hardest characters I have written because they are so different from each other. The easiest were Nick Allegrezza and Delaney Shaw from TMY. Those two characters had a past and had known each other, and dialogue between the two of them was easier.

Donna: What is next? Can you give us a hint?

Rachel: The book I just finished is another small town setting. The heroine is a reporter who writes articles for a tabloid paper much like The Weekly World News. She writes those alien abduction and Bigfoot articles (which is a job I've always coveted). The hero is the sheriff of the small town. I would give you the name of the book, but Avon will change it in a few months anyway.

Donna: If given free rein to write any kind of book you wanted, what kind of books would you write in the future?

Rachel: So far I have been given free rein, so that's very difficult to say. I think I will always write romance, and since I can't plot to save myself, I don't see myself adding any suspense or mystery to my work. If I ever wanted to go more mainstream, I'd probably try something more along the lines of Deb Smith.

Donna: How has the internet affected you as an author?

Rachel: Before I got on line last April, I didn't know about review sites or sites like RBL. Now I get feedback that I didn't have while I was writing my first two books. I am much more aware of readers, and I am certainly more in touch with what they think. It is wonderful to talk to readers, not only about my work, but to read what they like or dislike in romance novels. But you know, reviews and review sites are a double edged sword. If they like you, it's great. But if they don't, it feels like you've been hit by a kamikaze.

Donna: What are some of your favorite web sites and discussion boards?

Rachel: Even though I don't post, I check out the RBL site to see what you all are doing. I also take a peek or two at your BODS page. Of course, I like the Avon Ladies sites, and I sometimes post at The Romance Journal. Oh, and I have my home page at Writerspace and so I've been checking that out and really like it, too.

Donna: What can we do as readers can help to promote new authors such as yourself?

Rachel: Tell other readers. Word of mouth is an incredible tool in selling books.

Donna: Do you have any advice for the aspiring authors here at RBL?

Rachel: Write the book that's in your heart. Don't jump on the latest market trend, because by the time you've finished your book, the market will have changed. Editors will be looking for a book just like the latest break-out author who probably broke out because she wrote the book of her heart. Write as much as you can. Find your writer's voice, and learn your craft.

Donna: Do you have anything you would like to say or questions you would like ask the readers here at RBL?

Rachel: No questions, but I would like to say that you all seem to be such great friends and so supportive of each other. I think it is wonderful to have a place where friends can come and discuss not only books, but can share what is going on in their lives. I really enjoy the times I stop in and read the quote of the day or the jokes or just check up on you all. Have fun in Vegas with your dancing boys!

Rachel, on behalf of RBL Romantica, I would like to thank you again for taking the time to share yourself with us. It has been great having you at RBL, and we hope that you will continue to join us there.

~ Donna ~



Ketchup
April 2003

Donna: Rachel, it's been three years (three books and God only knows how many pairs of shoes *g*) since our Spotlight interview. It's time to catch up with you!

So tell us, what's new with you? Can you share your future plans?

Rachel: Well, let's see. In the past three years, I've published three more books - TRUE CONFESSIONS, LOLA CARLYLE REVEALS ALL, and SEE JANE SCORE.

TRUE CONFESSIONS won the Rita award for best contemporary romance of 2001. For those of you who may not know, Rita is a big gold statue and is given by Romance Writers of America. On my Website, there are a few photos of Rita meeting one of my dogs and my Mark Messier action figure. She's turned into quite the diva, and at the moment is sitting on my desk wearing a blonde wig and black sunglasses.

In my fifth book, LOLA CARLYLE REVEALS ALL, I threw in a little action and adventure.

My sixth book, SEE JANE SCORE, just came out in February. SEE JANE SCORE is a hockey book like my first published novel, SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE.

I just finished my seventh book for Avon/Harpercollins. It's set in the Texas panhandle, and is titled DAISY'S BACK IN TOWN. It will be released early in 2004.

Since I spoke with you all last, I've had two children graduate from high school and move out. We somehow ended up replacing them with a very naughty beagle and another huge cat. I am still a shoe-a-holic, and, now that I have two empty bedrooms, have more places to store them.

I will be speaking in Anaheim in April, and at the Idaho Librarians Association Conference at the end of April. That conference has me terrified as I fear the librarians know how much I owe in fines. I will be in New York in July and DC in August. Then I have to buckle down and work work work on my eighth book.

It was great checking in with you ladies. Take care.

Donna: Rachel, thank you for the "catch-up." And in a world that is now full of threats and potential danger, you continue to bring us so much love and laughter. Thank you so much for that.

Rachel's Website


Return to the
Index of Author Interviews.


Copyright © RBL Romantica!
All rights reserved.
Reproducing material from this site without permission is prohibited.