Dee: I love to travel, trying out new restaurants, cooking, hanging out with my family, and of course reading!

Beaty: Are you a full-time author?

Dee: Yes. In fact, sometimes I work too many hours – at least according to my family.

Beaty: Do you have pets?

Dee: I do. I have a cat named Sasha – black and white tuxedo. And I have a dog named Max – cardigan Welsh corgi. They both are good sounding boards for plotting.

Beaty: What do you do for fun?

Dee: Explore Manhattan and the surrounding areas. We moved here three years ago, so are still enjoying learning about the city.

Beaty: What does the family feel about your writing?

Dee: They are all amazingly supportive. My husband, brother, mom and dad (until he passed away) always read my books. And my thirteen-year-old recently got the chance to read A MATCH MADE ON MADISON. They all turn books around in their respective bookstores, and my husband has been known to accost readers in stores to tell them about my latest. I am truly blessed.

Beaty: Have you always wanted to be a writer?

Dee: No. Although I always loved writing, I didn’t really think about it as a full time career until I had a sort of mid-life crisis just before I turned 40 and realized that if I wanted to do it – it needed to be now.

Beaty: Was it easy to publish that first story?

Dee: Actually I had a Cinderella beginning. I wrote my first book, EVERYTHING IN ITS TIME, in 1998. Got an agent six months after finishing and sold the book seven months after that. EIT was published in June 2000. So much about this business has to do with right thing, right time.

Beaty: Why did you pick romance?

Dee: I’ve always been a romantic at heart. I love a happy ending. Cried when I didn’t get to see Cinderella’s wedding. Wanted more from Meg and Calvin in A WRINKLE IN TIME, and always loved a good romantic hero – like the one in NINE COACHES WAITING. And as a suspense writer, I love the idea of integrating the suspense plotline with the romance.

Beaty: Is there a genre of romance that you enjoy writing more than others?

Dee: Most all of my books, even the time travels, have elements of suspense. I fell in love with romantic suspense reading Mary Stewart and have never looked back!

Beaty: I must admit I ‘found’ Dee Davis when one of the RBLs recommended the Last Chance, Inc. trilogy to me. I immediately fell in love with your characterization and suspense plotting. Is contemporary romantic suspense what you always write?

Dee: I’ve written three time travels as well as my romantic suspense novels, but to be honest the time travels are suspenseful too, so the voice is pretty much the same. However, I do have a totally different kind of book coming in April of 2007. A MATCH MADE ON MADISON is the story of a matchmaker, a no holds barred bet, and the unwelcome fact that sometimes love has a mind of its own. And in 2008, I’ll be following up with SINGLE IN SOHO. But of course at the same time, I’ll still be writing my favorite – suspense.

Beaty: Do you write from outline or do you just sit down and write? The reader in me has this image in my head of authors sitting down and just typing out their stories. Every word perfect. The logical person in me is sure that’s not the case. *grin* What does it take to write a Dee Davis novel?

Dee: BIC – butt in chair. Seriously, perseverance is the name of the game. I usually have a synopsis of some sort for each book, although I really don’t follow it to the letter. I guess my writing is more like a road map. I know where I’m starting and where I’m going to end up, but the journey in between evolves as I go along. As to word perfect ... not a chance! Thank goodness for editing!

Beaty: From a recent poll question on the RBL bulletin board, I’ve found out that I remember the heroes in stories way more than the heroines. Writers who tell part of the story from the male POV help immensely to give me a more intimate knowledge of my favorite heroes. Is it an easy progression in the story to do this for us? Do you have to ‘push’ your men to open up to you?

Dee: I actually don’t find it any more difficult to write the male POV than the female – but some characters are harder to write than others. John Brighton in MIDNIGHT RAIN is an example. Primarily because he’d suffered a traumatic brain injury and I had to work very hard to try and get it right. I also think that writing suspense lends itself nicely to the male point of view. I do think that the reason we, as readers, remember the heroes more than the heroines has to do with the fantasy of romance – we’re living the stories and so in a sense we are the heroine.

Beaty: Do characters from other stories ever bother you while you’ve got a totally different story in progress? How do you tell them to wait their turn?

Dee: Absolutely. Every character fully believes that the story is about him or her. So that means sometimes you have to issue a gag order to keep them from taking over. Literally. Sometimes I buy them off with the promise of their own book. *s*

Beaty: What part of the story is the hardest to write? An action scene? A love scene? None of the above? *grin*

Dee: For me it’s always the middle. For some reason that’s the point where I usually just want to blow everyone up and be done with it. *g* As to action vs. love scene, I have to admit I adore action scenes, which shows up in my own preferences for reading material, movies and television shows. "The Terminator" being a prime example of one of my personal favorites. (Ah, but it’s a great love story, too!)

Beaty: What's one of your favorite fan stories?

Dee: I think it would have to be the woman who passed the time sitting by her sister’s bedside in the hospital, reading one of my books to escape her own worries. Quite honestly there is no greater compliment to a story teller. There was also the lady who said that she read my book in one night, but couldn’t pass it on to her friends because it was too titillating. Loved that one!

Beaty: Which of your stories to date has generated the most fan reaction?

Dee: Wow, that’s a tough one to answer. When they’re on the shelves they all seem to get their share of mail. John in MIDNIGHT RAIN got a lot of mail. And I suppose the thing most mentioned has been the question as to whether Harrison from Last Chance, Inc. would get his own story.

Beaty: You took a big chance making one of the protagonists (Nigel) for the first Last Chance, Inc. story a hero in a later story. Did you get any reader feedback on that? Were they all understanding?

Dee: No one has had anything negative to say about Nigel, and he’s a personal favorite of mine. He actually wasn’t intended to have his own book originally, but as I wrote Gabriel and Payton’s story I realized that Nigel’s story had to be told as well. I think it came out really well, and after all Nigel was just being true to his country. There’s honor in that no matter the situation. Besides he was terribly torn over the whole thing.

Beaty: I agree, Dee! He was very torn and it showed through the whole trilogy. Can you tell us what’s coming in the future? What new books we can be watching for?

Dee: I have a novella in an anthology called HELL WITH THE LADIES coming in October. It’s a special book because the other anthology authors are my critique partners and best friends - Julie Kenner and Kathleen O’Reilly. It’s about what happens when the devil decides to retire and gives his sons a chance to inherit the kingdom. Only, of course, love gets in the way! And there’s a second anthology, HELL ON HEELS, coming next June – it seems the devil also has daughters! I’ve mentioned April’s A MATCH MADE ON MADISON. I’ve very proud of it. And think it’s a lot of fun. And my next suspense, CHAIN REACTION, is coming out next June.

Beaty: I always enjoy asking one of the characters a question in my interviews. Would it be okay if I asked Cullen a question?

I really enjoyed the Last Chance, Inc. trilogy, Cullen. And I absolutely hate giving up my favorite characters when the series is over. Is there any chance that you’re needing a couple more missions that Dee could tell us about? I mean Harrison and you really need an HEA after all. *grin*

Cullen: I’ve said all along that I deserve my own story. After all, without me, where exactly would Last Chance be? As to Harrison – well, he’s one of those men that seem to drive the women wild without being the slightest bit aware of the situation. Don’t think I haven’t noticed. As to Ms. Davis – there’s simply no telling her what to do. And believe me, I’ve tried. But I’ve got a feeling we’ve got a few more missions yet to come. After all, I am the President’s go to guy.