Adele: Oh, definitely music, especially musical theater and opera. My family is heavily into music, on both sides, and I just grew up with it. My great-grandfather was the conductor of the Seattle Symphony for years, and his daughter, my grandmother, sang for them. She was an opera singer at a very early age. On my mother�s side, everybody plays the violin and piano, and I mean everybody. I had piano lessons for nine years, starting at the age of five, but I played by ear and never really learned to read music. In my teens, I dropped piano and started to sing myself (where I finally learned to read my part *g*). For a long time I really thought I would sing for a living. LOL! But I�ve always loved musical theater, and have played in lots of shows through the years. Music is definitely my passion!

Vic: (Good Gawd! Beauty, brains, and she sings, too???? Geeesh!) Every author, of course, has her own writing "style," and I find yours to be very different from my idea of the "norm." You are very intense, your stories are deep and touching with good subject matter, but a "style" I�m having a hard time putting words to. I shouldn�t make comparisons, but I do think your intensity and complexity is very comparable to LaVyrle Spencer - whom I consider one of the all time bests in the genre. How does a writer "acquire" a style, and how did you come to yours?

Adele: Thanks for such a wonderful compliment! But you know, I have no idea where style comes from. I suppose all writers are influenced by their particular backgrounds, their personal reading taste, and individual education. A lot of my style, I think, is indicative of both my journalism background and my romantic nature. I tend to use long phrases to capture the beauty of words, but at the same time I use a journalistic approach when it comes to grammar and sentence structure, which tends to be somewhat different from the creative writing you might learn in an English class. I also prefer intense stories with in-depth characters to fun romps and lots of action, but this is also my personal preference in reading material as well.

Vic: Were you influenced by any other writers?

Adele: Oh, I don�t know. Probably, though not consciously. I�ve always liked Judith McNaught, and began reading her historical romances very early on, mostly because I really enjoyed the intensity in her stories. Nowadays I don�t have as much time to read, and when I do it�s usually single title contemporary romances with good angst, series romance (HT/Blaze, or SIM/SD), or an Anne Perry mystery. I love her feel of Victorian England and the way she puts it all on paper. Sometimes I try to emulate the mood Perry creates because I think she�s got the time period down to a science. I don�t read historical romances anymore except for those from a few writer friends, probably because I write them and want to continue to develop my own individual style without analyzing another�s.

Vic: And, I really cannot do this interview without talking about the way you write sex/sensuality in your stories. I have only had the pleasure of reading two of your books - WINTER GARDEN and MY DARLING CAROLINE - and only because I haven�t yet found STOLEN CHARMS. I don�t even know where to begin here. As we have discussed many times at RBL, so many of our old favorite authors we depended on for good, hot, quality sensuality seem to have gotten away from it and gone to a "sweeter," less sexual style. One of the things I found most incredible about your stories is the way you write your love scenes. They are extremely intense and graphic, the h/h are uninhibited about talking sex, and the words you use are not cluttered with "purple" stuff (know what I mean?). In WINTER GARDEN, there is a very graphic, intense, and touching scene where Madeleine does oral sex for Thomas and does it through climax. And you wrote it in a very exquisite way that made it absolutely beautiful. I call this "going where most angels fear to tread." So, talk to us about this. When many other authors are steering away from this type of writing, why do you stay with it and include it as a very important part of your writing?

Adele: This is an interesting topic for me. I�ve never written a book where I�ve purposely "enhanced" the story with sexuality. My characters just have sex, which includes talking about it. Of course a virgin will talk about it differently than an experienced man or woman would, but when I write love scenes I don�t ever really think about how much or how little detail should be there, or what the characters should or should not be saying. The love scenes are just what they are.

I knew WG would be a very hot read from the beginning because Madeleine was a mature adult with a former sex life. She would be sexually attracted to Thomas and would act on it. I just wrote sex in the story as I felt it should be there, as I got to it. There was really no intention to write "X" number of love scenes, or oral sex, or masturbation (since we�re getting graphic here *g*) - it just sort of happened that way as I wrote and as the story progressed.

In the chapter where Madeleine gives oral sex to Thomas through climax, I knew it had to be in his point of view. Thomas is the one it�s happening to, and he�s the one who, as the reader finally knows, has had a somewhat lacking sex life. He would be the most surprised, and because the reader also knows he�s in love with Madeleine, he would be looking at the situation like he�s getting oral sex from a woman he deeply loves - a completely different thing from just "getting it." I also didn�t want this to be a scene from Madeleine�s point of view because - let�s face it, ladies - swallowing is not generally a joyful act or a pretty picture. Giving oral sex to a man is not exactly the most erotic experience for most women unless the woman really cares about the man, in which case she�s doing it for him, not for her. And how would I describe the "physical" aspect of it, through her point of view, as he climaxed? A description of her wiping her face and mouth would be more pornographic than romantic. When it comes right down to it, I write romance, therefore no matter how graphic the sex, it must first and foremost be romantic, where the beauty of the act shines through. That�s when the reader feels it, too, and the scene has a deeper underlying meaning.

Vic: Have you had any "flack" from your publishers, editors, or the public to "cool it down???"

Adele: No, not at all. And I�ve never had a publisher request more, or a certain amount, of sex in any book. I do think, however, that Avon may have been influenced by the graphic sexuality in WG when they offered me a contract to write for Romantic Treasures, though I�ve not been "advised" to put a certain amount of graphic lovemaking in my books for them, either. But extremely "hot" books are the in thing right now, and I�m sure publishers are aware of this.

As far as readers go, I�ve not gotten any indication that they would like it if I toned down my books. Lots of authors write sweeter romance novels, and romance readers, on the whole, are a savvy bunch. They learn quickly who writes to what degree of steaminess, and tend to stick with what they�re comfortable reading. The only comment ever made to me personally was a reader who wrote me after she read MDC and said she was surprised at the amount of graphic sexuality when the cover was so pretty and soft. Other readers may have been turned off by that as well, but I haven�t heard about it.

Vic: And will you PROMISE never to?!?!?!

Adele: LOL! Well, I don�t know if I can promise this. Like I said, the love scenes I write are just what I feel are appropriate in each individual book. I will never count the times lovemaking occurs, or specifically add oral sex, if I don�t think it�s important to a particular story. I will promise, however, that as long as I write romance I will include graphic sexuality. I think that for me, as well as lots of readers, lovemaking is essential to getting a complete picture of the love bond between the hero and heroine. I prefer to read it, and I prefer to include it in my books. I don�t think I�d ever write a romance completely void of good, graphic sex. A mystery maybe, but not a romance.

Leiha: Your books have a wonderful degree of sensuality between the characters. On the other hand, your covers look so tame. I think that they are beautiful but I honestly wouldn't have bought your books if it weren't for RBL. Do you feel that your covers help or hinder your sales?

Adele: I suppose that my covers in particular have limited sales of my books. I do know that one of the main reasons Berkley bought MY DARLING CAROLINE (my first book) was because they envisioned a beautiful cover using the lavender rose and greenhouse/rose garden. Their idea was to make this more of a *high* mid-list book, what they call a "B Lead" because they assumed that the cover would sell so well. Unfortunately it didn�t. I was even told that Berkley was trying to create a "look" for my books, and they did in that they�re all similar, but this wasn�t to suggest the actual stories were hot or sweet. With WINTER GARDEN, they had the cover already planned when someone else inside the publishing house read the manuscript and decided the book was too hot for the back cover blurb, and so that was changed to suggest a higher sexual content. I�ve personally loved each one of my covers, and I feel Berkley went to a great deal of trouble to make them beautiful, but it�s true they were not indicative of the content and probably did not grab attention sitting on shelves.

In general, most reader feedback I�ve received on my covers has been positive. They�ve liked them because they�re pretty, and they can be read anywhere without the reader getting snide looks from strangers. Most authors, however, feel they haven�t done my books justice. A lot of publishers are trying to get away from the clinch, which tends to stereotype romance novels, but it�s clear that readers use this as a gauge. Who will ever forget Dara Joy�s MINE TO TAKE cover? Yum! I bought the book just so I could sit there at stare at it. *g*

Leiha: I was pleasantly surprised to read that Madeleine was in STOLEN CHARMS. When you wrote her character, did you plan on writing her story all along?

Adele: Actually, no. My main reason for putting in a "world class beauty" secondary character was to let the reader know, early in the book, that Jonathan (the rakish hero) was already faithful to Natalie (the heroine). In chapter four of STOLEN CHARMS Madeleine propositions Jonathan and he turns her down, which was intentional on my part from the beginning.

Later, though, I really grew to like Madeleine as a character and found that I was including her in scenes I never intended to write. By late in the story, when she and Natalie are having their "woman to woman" discussion, I�d decided she�d make an intriguing heroine. But I also knew, by this point, that I�d have to pair her with a really unusual man who would love her for more than just her looks. I don�t particularly enjoy writing stories with marvelously beautiful heroines; I think they�re done too much. But Madeleine was who she was, and I wanted to attempt her story for many reasons, but especially to see if I could make the reader realize a man loves her in spite of her looks. Thomas just sort of evolved from that idea.

Maggie: Has there been reaction to such a physically disfigured hero as Thomas is in WINTER GARDEN?

Adele: What I�ve found particularly odd (and inspiring *g*) is that I�ve received a lot of reader comments on Thomas, but none because of his physical imperfections. Every single reader who�s written me has commented on how protective they were of him while reading WG, and how much they just loved his character. I think this is partially due to his physical disfigurement, but also because he was in love with the heroine from the beginning of the book. Readers cheered for him, and when his disabilities are fully known, readers cheered even harder. It�s interesting to me that I�ve never gotten such a reaction from any of my other heroes.

Vic: The female characters in your books are very atypical. They are strong, independent thinkers, comfortable with their sensuality (if not downright horny! LOL!). And Madeleine was very unconventional, with an occupation, not to mention a very unconventional occupation. Do you think it is more of a challenge to write these atypical women than typical ones, and were there women in history who inspired you to create such female characters?

Adele: The one standout thing about history, even recent history, is that woman have been treated unequally. This makes me mad, and I think subconsciously I�ve attempted to right this wrong by giving my heroines occupations that elevate them in status. But this hasn�t been an all-out effort on my part. I just figure, if I wrote about a typical Victorian upper class woman, for example, what would she have to do? Manage a household, organize a soup kitchen or some other charity, and socialize. Boring - or at least not exciting for a novel. There are many ways good authors are able to take such a typical character and make her interesting, but I�m not one of them. If I sat down with a heroine like that, I�d think: "But what does she do?" I do think it would be much easier to write about a heroine like this if the book, as a whole, were a romp or a fast-paced action novel. Then the heroine could be taken out of her structured world and put in danger, she and the hero forced to be together on the run or something. Since my books are usually more of a study in character growth, concentrating on the feelings between the hero and heroine, I like them instead to work toward a common goal. The next two books I�m writing for Avon are about sisters who both have occupations, so to speak. I�d much rather write a heroine with an occupation than one without it. It also gives me a chance, as a person, to dwell on the things that have always fascinated me, like science, history, and culture studies. My heroine in my next book is a dinosaur sculptor; the hero is a paleontologist. But the romance comes first, of course. *g*

As far as their sexuality goes, it�s true that my heroines are growing bolder, more comfortable in their individual sexuality with each book, while remaining true to their characters. This, I think, has a lot to do with my ability to write graphic lovemaking without getting embarrassed. LOL! Sad but true. *g*

For instance, Caroline, the heroine in my first book, MY DARLING CAROLINE, was a virgin, though she was twenty-six. She was also a brilliant woman, so naturally she�d know what to expect on her wedding night. However, I did imply, when I wrote the first love scene, that she�d never had an orgasm. In my second book, STOLEN CHARMS, I figured, hey, most women, virgin or not, by the time they�ve reached the age of 23 (the age of the heroine), have had an orgasm. Many have probably masturbated. Why shouldn�t that be part of their sexuality, regardless of whether they feel guilty about it, or timid, or scared the first time they�re with the hero? That�s natural. Natalie, the heroine of SC, after being brought to climax manually by Jonathan, the hero, feels guilty because she feels she�s betrayed her future husband by being intimate with another man. But the orgasm itself is not a surprise to her, which leads the reader to assume she�s had one before.

My point here is that I never could have written the type of sexuality within SC when I wrote MDC. I was too shy or intimidated or something. When I got to WG, I added oral sex - her on him - and masturbation, which I never would have written before. I�m just getting more comfortable with it. What I must stress, though, is that, above everything else, I always try to write the sexuality to fit the characters. Madeleine, being a worldly individual with a previous sex life, would more likely be assertive in her approach. A virgin would not. I�m writing a widow now, and she�s going to be sort of in between. *g* I should also point out that I don�t think it�s in me as an author to become any more graphic in detail than I am now. I�ll always stress the romance and lovemaking to fit the characters and their feelings toward each other, but threesomes and orgies and SM are not in my future as an author.

Vic: Are your heroines in any way a reflection of yourself???

Adele: Umm ... not really, at least not intentionally. I�m sure that each of them has a character trait or two that I either possess myself, or one that I admire. But I don�t draw them like me, or like women I know. Same with my heroes. I try to give all my characters true individuality.

Vic: What made you want to be a writer, and why in the romance genre?

Adele: I think I�ve always been a writer. It�s just what I always did best, and I have quite the imagination. I got my degree in journalism instead of English for two reasons: My dad, who has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, and my mother, who has a Ph.D. in Speech Pathology, kept hounding me about getting The Job. What kind of Job could I get with a degree in English? Do you want to be a teacher, Adele? (Not that that�s considered bad. Everybody else on my mother�s side of the family is a teacher - my sister, aunt, uncle, cousins, grandmother, grandfather, and my mother, who teaches at the University of Hawaii. They just all knew my personality was not cut out for teaching.)

Finally, my freshman year in college, my English teacher, while circling all my boring, passive sentences on a paper I turned in, came right out and told me I would never make it as a creative writer. I believed him and switched my major, though I shouldn�t have. That English teacher gave me a high B, which I earned, and I never did more than "average" in journalism. I�m just such a ham that I could fake it on TV, and write my stories adequately. But for me, there�s no comparison between "Governor Simon takes to the issues, story at ten ..." (boring, boring, boring), and putting together the intricate details of Madeleine and Thomas and their growing love for each other. And I chose Romance because it�s what I love. *g* I started writing a mystery a few years ago and by chapter two it was a romance. (Sigh) Romance is just what I feel I should be writing. Maybe in a few years, I�ll try something else.

Vic: How does your family feel about the sensuous writing you do??? And how do you react when people say "You write what?!?!" *G*

Adele: Well, my family is fine with it. My husband has read the first two books and brags about me all over the place when he flies. My grandmother thinks I should be writing something "more profound," but then she�s a fan of highbrow "li-tra-chure." The rest of them are kind of excited each time they see a book of mine on the shelves. My dad read my first two books, but I doubt he�ll read WG because it�s just too racy. My mom has read all three of them, and will read them all in future, but she�s not a romance reader. I once asked her to read a rough draft of the first kissing scene in SC. Then I mentioned that I thought it was too short and needed work, that it should be lengthened. She literally gaped at me and said she was going to suggest I cut it. Ugh. But they�re all proud of me and have a deep respect for what I do.

I�ve never really had anyone say, "You write what?" Most people, when they find out, either think it�s fascinating, or they�re too polite and fake it rather than remark that it�s a foolish profession and I must be writing dime store trash novels. LOL! I�ve never had to apologize for it, though, and I won�t.

Vic: Did it take long to get your first book published? And when you got the news, how did you celebrate?

Adele: Well, I wrote my first manuscript in 1993 and it was never published. It really wasn�t that good. I wrote MDC next, finishing it in April of 1994. It took me a year and a half of trying to get an agent, then working with a great one, Denise Marcil, before she took me on as a client. She sold it to Berkley in nine months - July, 1997.

I don�t know that I celebrated, which, now that I think about it, is an odd thing. I always figured if I ever sold a book, I�d buy the best champagne and hit the town or something. It never happened. What�s funny is that I�d been working with my agent for a few months, changing the manuscript in subtle ways because I was getting comments from editors on ways to make it better. The day Denise called to tell me there was an offer, I was just sitting down to lunch. My husband had made these huge, scrumptious cheeseburgers, and my daughter, who was six months old at the time, was cooing and crawling around the table. Well, I picked up the phone and Denise comes on with, "Wellllll ... Berkley�s made an offer ..." sounding like she�s thinking about it as she�s reading something while talking to me, as if Berkley were just showing a vague interest or something. So I�m sitting there thinking, "What now? What do I have to change this time to make them interested?" Honest to God, it took me about three or four minutes of her talking before I�d realized a publisher wanted to buy MDC and actually publish it. Then it hit me. For the next fifteen minutes I talked to Denise, and to this day I have no idea what we discussed, though I do remember her chuckling so I must have been pretty incoherent. And I was so excited I never did eat that great cheeseburger. LOL!

Vic: Tell us what you think makes a man a "hero" in the true sense.

Adele: To me, a true hero is a man who shows depth of feeling, who stands up for what he believes, who is intelligent and displays a sense of humor. A hero listens to women, believes in their intelligence, and respects their valid opinions even if they�re different from his. A hero loves passionately, forgives easily, and demonstrates compassion for fellow human beings. A hero changes dirty diapers, cleans toilets, and cooks - and isn�t embarrassed to tell people that. And, of course, he must be good in bed. (Just kidding. LOL!)

Vic: What is the most romantic fantasy you can think of to have with a man! You don�t have to get graphic or anything, but what would Adele pick as the most romantic thing to do with the fantasy man of your dreams? Have some fun, and share with us!

Adele: I�d like to have email sex with one of those Bod guys from the Bods page! LOL! Okay, since that was just a quick, random thought, I�ll start over. My fantasy (taking my husband right out of the picture because this is not reality here, ladies) would be to be in Europe, at a Swiss chalet or something, and meet a gorgeous prince who looks like Harrison Ford or Mel Gibson or Pierce Brosnan, who falls for me and thinks I�m absolutely beautiful. I wouldn�t want sex right away, because this is a romance fantasy, so he would want to get to know me first (it�s also a woman�s fantasy, not a man�s - LOL!). After a whirlwind romance where he wines me and dines me and shows me the world, he tells me, in a passionate exchange, that he loves me more than he�s ever loved anyone in his life, and I finally sleep with him and have the most mind blowing, multi-orgasmic sex I�ve ever experienced. Then he whisks me off to his palace and we live happily ever after. And oh, yeah, in this fantasy I�m twenty pounds thinner and have a perfect butt. *g*

Vic: (HAH! Is she a REBEL or what?!?!?!) Would you talk to us about your new book? Give us some hints about what we can look forward to?

Adele: My next book, called SOMEONE IRRESISTIBLE, is the story of Mimi Sinclair, a widow and dinosaur sculptor, and Nathan Price, a professor of paleontology. He is disgraced by the disappearance of a one-of-a-kind Megalosaurus jawbone that�s stolen from under his nose at the opening of the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, in London, 1851. Three years later, where the story really begins, he returns to Mimi because he wants her to sculpt the missing jawbone from drawings. He thinks her father contributed to his downfall and has a plan to expose him and regain his honor. This is my first book for Avon, and it will be a Romantic Treasure, due to be released in September, 2001.

Vic: What has been the greatest thrill of your career as a published romance author?

Adele: I�m sure the greatest thrill would have to be winning the Romance Writers of America RITA award for Best First Book of 1998 for MY DARLING CAROLINE. I�d worked so hard on that book, put everything into it, that to have it finally published and then nominated for a RITA was an honor in the truest sense of the word. To actually win was literally a dream come true. Hearing my name announced in Chicago that night, in front of 2000 of the most talented, well respected people in the publishing industry, was really one of the most humbling, joyous moments of my life.

Adele and her editor, Judy Palais

That is truly an honor, Adele, and a much deserved one, I must say! Thank you so much for sharing so much fun and interesting information about yourself with us. It has been a delight working with you on this interview and I know I speak for myself and everyone when I say THANK YOU for the wonderful hours of reading you have given us - and we look forward to many, MANY more!!!

~Vic~



Two Rebels meet! Adele and Robin at RWA 2000, Washington, D.C.


Adele's Website



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