When did you know you wanted to be a writer? – Charlene D.

About thirty years ago! I remember being in preschool and dictating a story to my grandmother because I didn’t know how to write yet. It was about a frog who had no willpower. But the writing bug really bit me in first and second grade, during Writer’s Workshop. I still have all my books, too!

Where do your story ideas come from? – Felicia E.

I wish I knew! Every once in a while, I’ll be inspired by a weird dream or a little seed of an idea, but most of the time I have no idea where my stories come from. They just kind of show up in my mind, if that makes sense? I thought I was crazy until I read Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic, and then I realized I’m not the only one. :-)

Also, you know when you’re listening to a song and you kind of escape your thoughts for a while and slip into a daydream? That’s kind of how my ideas come to me. I let go of my own thoughts and daydream for a while. Sometimes a bunch of scenes will come to me for a particular book I’m working on, and I’ll write them down and piece them together and figure out their order.

Winter Renshaw. Sosie Frost. Two separate people? Confirm or deny. – Sosie F.

Thank you for asking this question, Sosie, because it’s time we set the record straight. This may come as a shock to some of you, but Winter Renshaw and Sosie Frost are two entirely separate people with approximately 780 miles (and a few years) between them.

How do these characters and their lives come to you? – Ronetta W.

I start with a premise and then conjure up characters who would most be challenged by that premise. The more challenging, the better!

Do you need a best friend? Because I’m available. – Erica W.

The more, the merrier! <3

Who is your favorite author and why? – Carrie S.

Whitney G., hands down! I got hooked on her Reasonable Doubt series a few years back, and I’m convinced everything she writes is pure gold. I don’t know anyone who can write (and redeem) a sexy alpha jerk like Whitney, and I love, love, love the way her characters banter. The chemistry comes to life in her books.

How old were you when you decided to write your first book? – Libby B.

Aside from crafting stories as a young child, I didn’t write my first novel-length book until I was thirty. I started and stopped, started and stopped a bajillion times, never finishing because I was 100% convinced they were never going to be good enough.

How many hours a day do you usually write? – Denise T.

I aim for three to four when I’m working on a novel. I find anything more than that, my quality suffers and it’s not worth it.

If you could get any piece of advice from any other author, what would it be and what would you ask them? – Sandra W.

Mia Asher writes the best sex scenes. I’d love to know if she has any tips! Her writing is so beautiful and poetic and almost rhythmic. It’s classy and pretty and chock full of angst and raw emotion. It’s no wonder her sex scenes are off the charts amazing.

How much research goes into your books? – Stephanie P.

It depends! Certain things I’ve had to research in the past (polygamy and hockey are two that stand out the most for me as I had zero experience with either of those things). Most of the time, I Google as I go, and they’re always little random things (the driving distance between two cities, cool hotel names, how to make an Old Fashioned, etc, etc).

Do you have the complete thought of the story before you start or is it more organic? Coming along as you write or a combo of both? - Anthula G.

I used to outline my stories extensively and that helped me to write them really quickly (Never Kiss a Stranger was written in 10 days!). But as I’ve grown and changed as a writer, I’ve found myself preferring to make it up as I go. If I know exactly what’s going to happen next, I get bored and turned off by the story. So now, I might outline 2-3 chapters at a time and write based on that, and I might know the twists or what’s going to happen at the climax or black moment, but getting from one point to another is usually a surprise for me until I’m working on those scenes. I like to let the characters lead the way. The books feel more organic for me that way.

If you had to pick a genre completely out of your comfort zone to write, what would you want to try? – Jessica P.

I don’t know about another genre outside of this, but I’ve always wanted to do a time travel romance! One of these days, maybe I will …

Out of all your books, which character would you want to be? – Kelli J.

Addison from Never Kiss a Stranger! I think it would be amazing to live in New York and sell high-end real estate. Maybe it’s only glamorous in my mind because I’m sure that’s a super stressful, cut-throat career, but that city is pure magic and to be able to step inside of some of those properties would be heaven on earth. Those commissions though … lol.

What genres do you read? How many times do you rewrite a chapter or section of a book to fit a new idea? – Diana S.

I mostly stick to romance and non-fiction (memoirs, parenting books, writing books, that sort of thing). Occasionally I’ll grab a bestseller like Girl on the Train or Big Little Lies.

Have you always wanted to be a writer? – Tereasa J.

For as long as I can remember!

If you could collaborate with any other author, who would you choose? – Mellissa C.

I’d have to say Sosie Frost, because I love her dearly and respect the hell out of her as a writer. We became acquainted a couple years ago in a writer’s community when I posted about starting a beta group. Not only has she been a godsend to me professionally because her advice is top notch and she knows her stuff, but we chat online or text every single day and she is the sweetest, smartest, and funniest person ever. Collaborating with her would be a total blast!

Do you have a muse? – Darlene B.

It changes with each book. I try to “cast” my hero and heroine before I start the book so I can put a face and mannerisms on them immediately. If I don’t, I tend to change stuff as I go (without realizing it sometimes) and that can be an editing nightmare.

How come Locke only had a novella? – Franci K.

I’ve received this question quite a bit lately, and while I would have loved to have given Locke a full-length story, I took one look at my schedule for the year and knew it just wouldn’t have worked. I have way too much on my plate, so I figured a little bonus novella in the back of Cold Hearted was better than nothing. :-)

I seriously don't know how you write and publish so many books in such a short

amount of time. What's your secret to being so prolific? – Sherri M.

It’s all about the discipline! I set daily goals for myself (word counts or chapter counts), and I write them down every day. My husband makes fun of me because I’ll re-write my to-do list every single day on a fresh sheet of paper, but it’s something I’ve always done that helps keep me focused on my goals.

How old were you when you published your first book and what inspired you to write it? – Jessica G.

I was thirty-one when I published Never Kiss a Stranger, which was my first full-length book. I’d tried my hand at some novellas before that and none of them were doing that well. I always knew I wanted to be a writer and I’d taken several classes in college, but in retrospect, I had no idea what I was doing. I took a step back, obsessively studied my craft, read a bajillion books on writing, listened to about forty RWA seminars, enlisted the help of some amazingly talented author friends, and figured out what I could do to improve my writing. Still to this day, I “study” my negative reviews and read books on the craft of writing. I’m constantly in a state of wanting to get better and better. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing in this industry.

As far as what inspired me to write it, at that time, everyone was writing “stepbrother romances” and they were all the same for the most part. I wanted to do something trendy but different, so I thought, “What if two people hooked up using a dating app then discovered they were stepsiblings?” And the story was born.

How many books have you written/published to date? – Sabrina G.

Including The Perfect Illusion, I’ve written 16 novels and 1 novella to date. I have a few more planned for 2017!

Which book was the hardest/most emotional for you to write? Sabrina G.

Definitely Royal. Out of all my books, I think that one had the most amount of emotionally charged scenes. There were some powerful moments and I had to tap into some pretty deep emotions I’d been burying for years. It was cathartic though!

What is your favorite color and favorite flower? – Sabrina G.

They change with the seasons it seems, but right now my favorite color is geranium red and my favorite flowers are blue hydrangeas!