Sandra: I am the wife of a stock broker and the mother of four sons, plus a male German Shepherd the size of a small horse. I tell everyone that I had to develop a sense of humor to survive in this all-male testosterone-oozing household. As for hobbies, I like to go to estate auctions to hunt for those elusive antiques at bargain prices and I love to read for pleasure. We own a beachfront condo in Myrtle Beach and a cottage on a world-class fly fishing stream here in Central Pennsylvania; both offer plenty of respite and opportunities for exercise, not that fishing takes much muscle.

Beaty: What made you decide writing was what you wanted to do in your life? And why romance?

Sandra: I am a lifelong reader, starting back when I was a precocious ten-year-old reading GONE WITH THE WIND. Why romance? Because it is what I like to read most.

Beaty: Once the decision was made, how hard was it to actually sell that first story?

Sandra: It's hard for most writers to sell that first book, but once you've got a foot in the door, it becomes easier. In my case, I got my butt in the door, and there was no way they were shoving that out. *G*

Beaty: I'm always curious about the writing method. It seems that there isn't a cookie-cutter way to write a book. *G* Do you just sit down and start writing? Are you one of those who have bunches of sticky notes? Do you use an outline?

Sandra: My methods have changed with every book. In the beginning, I was very structured, almost a chapter by chapter outline. Now I write by the seat of my pants. I honestly don't know ahead of time what my characters are going to do. For example, FRANKLY, MY DEAR was originally titled LOST IN THE BAYOU, but when I decided mid-book to add a GONE WITH THE WIND thread we went back and changed the title. Sometimes the idea for a book can come from a first line that occurs to me. For example, in THE BEWITCHED VIKING, "The king's manroot (cock) took a right turn." I got the idea from a friend of my husband whose penis developed this temporary disease which caused a bend. Sometimes the title comes first such as THE VERY VIRILE VIKING. Like I said, each book is different.

Beaty: Do your characters misbehave? Do they get into fixes you never planned on? I remember reading a story once about an author (the hero) and he was actually conversing with his hero in the story. From someone (that would be me *G*) who has no "characters" dancing around in her mind, this was absolutely fascinating. Do you converse with your characters?

Sandra: I don't really talk with my characters, but I do become attached to them. They become real people to me. With most of my books, I say that it feels as if I am sending a child out into the cold, cold world when I mail a final manuscript. When I sent THE BEWITCHED VIKING, though, it felt as if I'd shoved a lover out the door.

Beaty: You write many kinds of stories - time-travel, historical, contemporary. Do you have a favorite? Why do you write so many different types?

Sandra: Actually, I don't think I write different kinds of stories. All of them are heavy on humor and sizzle. Those people who resist time-travels or historicals or Cajuns often come back to me and say they loved the books. Historicals and contemporaries sell better than time-travels; so we try to pull in new readers to time-travels with the more common genres.

As for favorites, oh, boy! I have always liked Etienne from SWEETER SAVAGE LOVE ... a great example of a tortured hero with a sense of humor. Tykir in THE BEWITCHED VIKING had a great sense of humor, too. All my Cajuns are sexy and fun. My editor thinks that my October book, WET AND WILD (a Viking Navy SEAL) is my best book yet, and that Ragnor is to-die-for.

Beaty: I've read (it was actually in an author blurb in one of your early works) that you're related to a famous Viking. How did you find out? Is he one of the reasons you decided Vikings would be your niche?

Sandra: Before I ever thought about writing a novel (I was previously a newspaper journalist), I worked on a family genealogy. My father's side of the family could be traced all the way back to Viking times and Rolf, the first Duke of Normandy. When I decided to write a time-travel, it seemed natural to go in that direction.

Beaty: I must admit I can't decide which is my favorite of your many genres. Time-travels have always been a favorite of mine. It would be a toss-up between your Cajun series and your contemporary time-travel series. All the heroes are so hunky, but I LOVE seeing those big Vikings trying to adapt to the land of boxes. *G* (Those of you RBLs who don't understand this inside joke must read THE LAST VIKING!) No matter what the genre, you always add lots of laughs. Is humor easy for you to write? Is it something that comes naturally? Would you have trouble writing without it?

Sandra: Yes, humor comes naturally to me. I wasn't always that way. In fact, old friends can't believe I am writing these books; I was so serious back then. I see the humor in almost everything these days, and probably would inject humor in whatever genre I wrote in.

When I first started writing, I knew that books with social issues or poignancy or important educational elements touched readers in some way. But I had no idea how much humor matters to people, as evidenced by the huge amount of reader mail I get thanking me for helping them through bad times or just plain entertaining them.

Beaty: With the popularity of your time-traveling Vikings, what made you decide to branch out into the Cajun series? Not that I'm complaining! The brothers are just too yummy! And I can hardly wait for Tee-John to grow up enough for his own story. *G* Talk about precocious!

Sandra: As a reader, I enjoy contemporaries as well as historicals. I believe I have a voice for both. I have visited Louisiana and love that region; the setting and culture are almost characters in themselves. And what's not to like about those Cajuns?

Beaty: You get some of the BEST covers! Ones that spring instantly to mind are THE OUTLAW VIKING, THE LOVE POTION, and your new WET AND WILD. How do you get so lucky? Do you have much say in what covers you get?

Sandra: They ask for my advice on cover art, but then they do whatever they want. I am not the best judge of what makes a good cover; so, I rarely complain (except for the cartoon cover on THE VERY VIRILE VIKING ... yeech!).

Beaty: You have four series out. Are they all continuing series? Are any of them finite? What's next?

Sandra: They are continuing series, but they are meant to be able to stand alone if read out of order. Yes, I suspect they are finite. I always intended to write a sequel to FRANKLY, MY DEAR and SWEETER SAVAGE LOVE, but I suspect too much time has passed since original publication. And Warner says they don't want any more Cajuns, although I could put Tee-John in another series if I want.

Coming up next is WET AND WILD in October, a contemporary time-travel from Leisure Books. A tenth century Viking lands in the middle of Navy SEALs training. This is the fourth book in a loosely linked series (it can be read out of order), starting with THE LAST VIKING, TRULY MADLY VIKING, and THE VERY VIRILE VIKING. The sequel (and fifth book) will come next July in HOT AND HEAVY, another contemporary time-travel and another Viking Navy SEAL story, except this time the Viking is a female and the SEAL is a contemporary hero.

In addition, next April will be THE RED-HOT CAJUN from Warner Books. This is Rene's LeDeux's story, following in the footsteps of his three sexy brothers from THE LOVE POTION, TALL DARK AND CAJUN, and THE CAJUN COWBOY. Rene's story is the hottest I've ever written, and it's got everything ... a burned-out environmentalist, a kidnapped Court TV reporter, a surprise wedding, and a senior citizen aunt who gives a cop the finger. (Is there such a thing as a finger felony?)

Finally, I recently signed a three-book contract with Warner Books for their mainstream line. I call this the Jinx series after its female protagonist, Veronica Jinkowsky. This book will be in the vein of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, except there will be treasure hunting instead of bounty hunting, and the male protagonist will be Veronica's fourth divorced husband (and only husband ... they've been divorced four times).

Whew!

Beaty: I always end my interviews with a question to one of the author's characters. If you'd allow it, I'd like to ask one of my favorite recurring characters, Bolthor, the following: "Bolthor, could you give us a few lines on authors who torture warrior Vikings in their stories?" *VBG*

Bolthor:
"Viking men are very studly,
And they know their charm.
If they choose to seduce women,
Is there any harm?

The gods have gifted them
With looks some might call hot.
But mostly, methinks women
Like the Viking S-Spot."