Leigh: After I got married in 1972, I noticed romances appearing all over the house. They were in piles by the bed, by my wife's chair, on the table, even a few in the bookcase. Judging them by their lurid covers, I called them my wife's Sin, Lust, and Passion books. I said it so often my daughter started calling them Mommy's "celeste" passion books. I thought it was funny. My wife didn't. One day, after what was probably a particularly rude comment, she threw one at me and said read it or shut up. It was Georgette Heyer's THESE OLD SHADES. I loved it and read everything I could by Heyer. I ended up buying most of the books myself.

After I'd read them at least three times each, I asked my wife to recommend some books. I minored in history in college and she liked historicals, so she started me with Kathleen Woodiwiss, Rosemary Rogers, Bertrice Small, Johanna Lindsey, and Jennifer Blake. I was teaching school at the time and my wife was staying home with our three children. I heard women were making money writing romances, so I suggested my wife write one. We were certainly poor enough to need the money. She said she couldn't write and that I should do it. I said if she'd give me a plot, I'd try. She said, " I've lost everything." That wasn't exactly a plot, but it tripped some switch because I started writing. And 889 pages later I had finished my first book. I didn't sell until my third book, but that's how I got started.

Merry: How does your family feel about your chosen lifework (after teaching)? They must be so proud of you! Although I'll bet it was interesting for a while for the kids, to say, " ... and Dad writes romance novels in his spare time." Or did they?

Leigh: My family is used to what I do by now - I've been published for seventeen years in May - but the kids like to tell people for the shock value. I mean, what do you say when someone says their father writes romance novels? "Really? That's nice. And is your mother normal?"

Merry: You recently served as President of Romance Writers of America. Did you enjoy the job? What was the biggest challenge for you? Would you do it all over again, just the same way?

Leigh: As with any job, I liked some parts very much and would gladly have done without others. I'm tempted to say the biggest challenge was to come up with a meaningful president's column each month. Actually, the biggest problem was trying to encourage a board with very different ideas about what was best for RWA to work together. No, I would not do it over again. I thought the membership of RWA was ready for a strategic board that would concentrate on policy and leave the day-to-day work to the office. If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't change my beliefs, but I would definitely try to improve my communication skills.

Merry: Have you noticed a difference in your readership - in the communications you receive from fans - since the word came out that Leigh Greenwood is male? I can remember the carefully phrased author blurbs in earlier books - was it rather a relief to forego the circumspection?

Leigh: I haven't noticed any difference. The readers who have enjoyed my books appear to still be enjoying them despite discovering I'm a man. Many have reacted with surprise, but no one has said they quit reading my books. A lot of my readers give my books to their husbands and sons, so maybe something "masculine" was sneaking through all the time.

Merry: Was it ... ummm ... "interesting" to go to functions like Romantic Times conventions and RWA meetings in those early days and be in a definite minority? When the majority of readers didn't know Leigh was male, were the reactions fun to watch?

Leigh: I was accepted by virtually everyone from the very beginning. If there were any prejudice because I was a man, I was too insensitive to notice it. RWA and RT have always been extremely welcoming and supportive. Most women discover I'm a man before they reach my table, so I only get to hear about their reactions.

Merry: Many readers (myself included) adored your long series, "Seven Brides" and "The Cowboys". Is your present series going to continue in the same vein (that is, seven books - or more)?

Leigh: The matter of my series is a sore issue with my readers right now. Initially my editor and I decided to take a break from The Cowboys just because it was so long. I was going to write seven books in The Night Riders series, then come back and finish The Cowboys. In the meantime, there was a change in buying habits and distributors decided series didn't sell. They said a reader was unlikely to pick up book six or book nine when the others weren't on the shelf. Not even Nora Roberts has her entire backlist on the shelf. In any case, they told my editor they weren't going to buy series anymore. My readers have had a fit, but my editor is thinking about letting me finish The Cowboys. I don't know about the Night Riders. One series at a time. My next three books, beginning with THE INDEPENDENT BRIDE, are not part of a series.

Merry: You do such a wonderful job of creating believable characters that we love keeping up with the families in your books, Leigh. I know I'm always delighted when I run across a reference to the Randolphs in a subsequent book. Just how much of a pain is it for you to keep track of who's where and what they're doing? I had a customer come up with an idea for you the other day - "How about a 'catch-up' book on each series? Or even a 'guide' or 'family tree' printed in the back of a newer book?" (Now, don't look at me like that, Leigh, it wasn't MY idea! Although it would be fun ...)

Leigh: Actually, I've already done something along the lines of a guide and family tree, but it's not ready for distribution, even by e-mail or on my Website. I've asked several times about doing spinoff books about minor characters, but they never go for the idea. I can't imagine how I could do a "catch up" book about so many people. I racked my brain before I came up with a way to get all the Randolphs in the same book in LILY.

Merry: Care to brag a little? You've won a close to a kazillion awards for your writing!

Leigh: A few, but the best reward is still a check. That means readers like my books enough to plunk down their hard-earned money.

Merry: Speaking of the family, how is everyone doing? The kids are all grown up now, right?

Leigh: The kids are grown (ages 30, 28, and 24) and the nest is empty. I love having them come home as often as they can, but I truly love my empty nest. I'd give it up for grandchildren, but no one is offering ... yet.

Merry: What other interests do you have (and have time to keep up with) these days? I know you spend some time at your computer each day, sharing funny stories and jokes with a vast network of friends!

Leigh: About all I have time for these days is keeping up with my singing. I'm getting old, but the voice still works. I sing in my church choir and practice several times a week so my technique doesn't entirely leave me. I don't play the piano or organ anymore. Just no time. My yard has gone to pot, but it was either weed the flower beds or read. You know how much I like books.

Merry: Do you get to travel for research much? Ever had a wish to set a book in a certain area, just to have the excuse to go there?

Leigh: I try to go to every location where I set a book. I don't have to go to the specific place because I try to avoid using real places, but it's so much easier to set a book in Wyoming or West Texas after you've seen the endless space, the high plains, or the emptiness. This past summer, I went on an Outward Bound trip in the High Sierras. We spent the nights on peaks, bathed in rivers, spent a night alone in the forest, and were never below 7,000 feet. No matter where you wanted to go, you had to climb over or around something BIG. I loved it! I can't wait to set a book there.

Merry: And what's next on your publishing schedule?

Leigh: I'm finishing the second book in an unrelated group of three about brides of the west.