People talk to me.  Shortly after meeting someone they seem to want to share their entire life story, deepest darkest secrets included, with me.   I can’t say how many times I’ve heard the phrase…I don’t know why I’m telling you this…OR…This isn’t something I normally talk about.. OR…I haven’t thought about this in years!  I also tend to remind people of someone they know.  Doesn’t she look like so and so’s sister?  She even SOUNDS like her!  Yeah, I’ve heard that a lot.   This knowledge would have been helpful when I was on my pilgrimage into the theatrical world eons ago.  The whole point is to stand out in the world of theatre…clearly, I blend in!  Not the greatest asset for an aspiring actress, but as an aspiring writer, I’ll take it!  🙂

Talk to me!  Tell me what makes you tick.  I want to know your dreams and triumphs.  I want to know how you overcame adversity, faced your fears, and thrived.  There is nothing I love more than to hear YOUR story.  How did you get from point A to point B?  How did a girl from upstate NY with musical stars in her eyes land in the burbs of Jersey writing romance?  It might not be the most interesting of stories, but it’s mine and I love it.  Every single person that I’ve met along the way is part of that story, and then there it is…all the other stories within the story. 

In my writing, I strive to make my characters as authentic as possible.  They become real to me in every sense of the word.  I invest myself emotionally in their journey to happiness.  Remember…this is romance…a happy ending is the one thing you can always count on!  It is what happens along the way that keeps the reader turning the page.  When I finish writing a novel, it is hard for me to say goodbye to my characters.  Recently I decided that I didn’t have to and began a series.  I now have a whole cast of characters from the fictional Jersey Shore town of Audubon Springs and each of them has a story to tell.  The possibilities are endless! 

To those of you who have been so generous with your stories…you might find that pieces of you landed on the pages of the Audubon Springs series, and for that, I’d like to say…it was unconsciously done, but thank you for sharing!