Patti: Oh, dear, where to begin! Perhaps first grade (way back in the 50s), when my teacher, Mrs. Williams, told my mom that I should read a lot of books over summer vacation. I've been reading ever since! My first romances were by Victoria Holt. I devoured every one of her books in my teens and in my twenties. I would say I read some of them four, five, maybe even six times. Back then I didn't know anything about romance novels - I just knew the name Victoria Holt, and I loved her stories. Slowly but surely I started reading other romances, but it wasn't until I fell in love with the cover of Jude Deveraux's A KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR (I fell in love with the book, too!), that I really started reading romance. I found all of Jude Deveraux's backlist and read those over and over; then a friend turned me on to Constance O'Day Flannery, because I was dying to read more time travels. That was in the early 90s - right about the time that I got serious about writing. Unfortunately my reading habits have slowed down since then! Now my reading consists mostly of books written by my friends. I've recently discovered mystery novels (cozies) which I love, and I'm just starting the Harry Potter books, which are terrific!

As for hobbies, my husband and I like to travel, mostly through the western states. Once upon a time I liked to do counted cross stitch and tole painting, but those favorite things were put on the back burner when I sold my first book in 1994. With a "real" job that, until this New Year, has taken up 40 hours of my week (I start working just 3 days a week January 3!), I have to devote most of my free time to writing. When I'm not doing t hat, I like to watch movies - romantic ones that I can get lost in!

And ... what makes my heart sing? Holding my husband's hand. Seeing my daughter's beautiful smile. Getting a fan letter from a first-time reader (or a long-time reader) saying they absolutely love my latest book, or even an old one that they found in a used book store! It doesn't take a whole lot to make me happy, and it doesn't take much to make me cry. Of course, those two things seem to go hand-in-hand with me. I cry at happy moments in movies and books a lot more than I cry when things are sad. I've even cried while watching a promotional video about taking a Walt Disney World vacation! Part of this is hormones; part of this, I imagine, is just liking happy things.

Vic: You told me once that one time, when someone found out you were a writer of romance, their reaction was, "Oh! You write those pornographic books!". Tell us how you reacted to that and what your answer to them was.

Patti: Actually, this has happened more than once. It's terribly sad that a lot of people equate romance books with porn. More often than not, I ignore people who make comments like this because it's nearly impossible to change their minds. Most of these people have never read a romance and probably never will - so I consider it a waste of my valuable time to talk to them about the subject. This year I gave copies of WIFE FOR A DAY to a lot of people I know who have never read a romance in their life. Yes, there's sex in the book, but there's also warmth and fun. I hope some of these people will at least crack open the book and see what they've been missing. If they don't - I guess it's just their loss.

Vic: I had the pleasure of meeting your very sweet husband when some of us met for dinner last summer. He seems so supportive of your career. What does he think of having a wife who writes those "pornographic books?" (LOL!) Really, how does your family feel about the books you write?

Patti: My husband Bob is extremely supportive and has been from the very beginning. I must admit that before I sold the first book, he looked at it as just a hobby. He wouldn't even venture a peek at what I was writing. When the first book was done and he read it, he said, in his normal conservative way, "I'm impressed." From Bob that was high praise! Now he reads most of my books (when he can find time). He likes to keep up with who's writing what, wants to stay on top of the "business" of writing, and encourages me to plant my rear end in front of the computer and write! (Sometimes I'd rather goof off!)

My daughter, on the other hand, has never read one of my books. (If she has, she would never admit it.) First off, she doesn't like to read. I find this really sad, but I can't force her. At times I think she might be a little embarrassed to read what I've written; however, she tells all her friends, their parents, and the people she works with that I'm a writer and she goes into bookstores and turns my books face out. I know she's proud of what I've done, she can tick off the names of each of my books, and she knows, basically, what they're about. I read her portions of my next book, BRIDE FOR A NIGHT, when I was writing it and she loved it. At first I thought she might not be paying attention, but then she made some terrific suggestions! That meant a lot.

I feel very fortunate that my family supports my writing career and that they have never placed huge demands on my time, because they know how much I love writing.

Vic: Speaking of family, it's "brag time"! Tell us about your family if you will.

Patti: My daughter Melanie is 20 and works as a sales representative for AT&T Wireless. She's tall, slender, and absolutely gorgeous (and that's not just a mother bragging!). She's bright in all the areas where I'm rather dense (math, money matters, and anything electronic!). She's been dating the same guy for over 3 years now (Todd) who's also tall, slender, and great looking. They're not only in love, but they're also best friends, and when he gave her a ring for Christmas, I was hoping it was an engagement ring. Alas, it wasn't - but a mother can always dream!

Bob and I have been married for 23 years. I can't exactly say it was love at first sight, but the feeling set in a few days later, and we got married after knowing each other just two months. There were 13 people at our Las Vegas wedding on New Year's Eve 1976, and we've had a great married life. We both grew up in southern California, moved to the Sacramento area shortly after we got married, and are now chomping at the bit to move to Montana, Wyoming, or somewhere in that neck of the woods. We both like the great outdoors, wildlife, and solitude! Thank goodness we have that in common.

Vic: Did you always want to be an author? What made you decide to write romance?

Patti: The desire to be an author hit in fifth grade. That's when I first started writing plays. In junior high, I wrote plays and love stories where Paul McCartney was the hero and I was the heroine - and we always got married and lived happily ever after. As you can see, romance was at the forefront of my mind from an early age. Even in the late 60s, when I wrote dark poetry about the Vietnam War, I still had romantic elements in my poems. I didn't have the guts to show my writing to anyone back in those days, but I can't remember a time when I didn't write romantic stuff.

Vic: We have several very talented Rebel ladies whom we feel are "up-and-coming" authors. What is your best advice or words of wisdom to these ladies to keep on trying?

Patti: I think the Rebel ladies who are working on books are already practicing one of the best recommendations I can offer: Read, read, read - and read what you want to write! Read not only established authors, but read brand new authors so you can get a feel for what publishers are buying. Write, write, write - and read articles or attend writing classes, so you can learn more about the craft. And join a writing group. Romance Writers of America is terrific. I don't think I ever would have sold if I hadn't joined RWA. Being in the company of other women like me who had a desire to write romance spurred me on. No one understands a writer better than another writer! Learn all you can about the publishers, keep up with who's selling to which publisher, and what those publishers are looking for. Attend conferences. And, if you have a dream of getting published - don't give up! I was very fortunate to sell the first complete book I ever wrote and I sold it quickly. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen all that often. But you can never sell if you give up. This business can often be frustrating, but it's also extremely rewarding. So keep writing, keep learning more about the craft, keep writing, and keep on submitting - and hopefully your dream will come true.

Vic: Your first books dealt with "magic" with MERRY NICHOLAS, and paranormal with TILL THE END OF TIME, and time travel with IF I CAN'T HAVE YOU and LOOKING FOR A HERO. With magic and paranormal, and sometimes with time travel, we often see a darker side of life and human nature and this has never been the case with your books. Your stories are always what I call "feel good reads" and your heroes are endearing, men a woman would feel safe with. Where did your inspiration come from when you wrote of these normally dark subjects and gave them a "light" and "feel good" theme?

Patti: I don't think I have it in me to write something really dark. Although I get depressed on occasion, I believe I'm the typical cockeyed optimist! No matter how dark and gloomy something is, I figure there's bound to be a brighter day ahead if I can just make it through the bad times. I think my characters and stories reflect this feeling, too, because I put a lot of myself into what I'm writing. MERRY NICHOLAS came about because I love Christmas - so who better to write about than Mrs. Santa Claus? Alex, my ghost in TILL THE END OF TIME, had been killed on his wedding day, but he never gave up hope of getting back to Amanda, the woman he loved. I suppose my heroes and heroines are optimists, too. I want people to feel good when they read my stories, so I don't want to bog them down with characters who are dark and brooding. My time-traveling movie star in IF I CAN'T HAVE YOU carried around some heavy baggage. He thought he'd killed his co-star, but he was too drunk to remember. He brought his drinking problem and his "mystery" with him from 1938 to 1998, but in spite of all his problems, he did his best to help the heroine, who had problems of her own. He wanted to make her feel good - and in the end, that helped him. And, of course, I had a pirate travel from 1702 to 1998 and sing lullabies and tell fairy stories to a bunch of little children. Now, how many one-eyed pirates with scars would do that? Well, mine did. I don't know why - it just seemed like something I wanted Morgan "Black Heart" Farrell to do at the time. It worked for me! I guess I would rather laugh and cry than frown or get into anything really heavy - so I write what I would like to read.

Vic: Your current book, WIFE FOR A DAY, is a straight contemporary. Again we have a fairytale-like story, but not what I would consider "light" writing (am I making sense here???). It is the story of Samantha Jones, a down and out young lady and Jack Remington (UmmmUM!), a millionaire rancher who decides to hire her as his date to his sister's engagement party because his fianc� dumps him at the last minute! This sounds like a very comedic premise, but actually deals with some very real and deep emotions between both people. Toss into the mix a teenage son Jack had not seen since birth, and the fact that Samantha's mother was a prostitute, and we've got some real issues to deal with! And yet, this book had me "laughing out loud," reeling in the beauty of the sensuality, and sobbing tears of joy in the end. So would you just talk to us a bit about this book? What were your emotions while you were writing it? Where did this story come from? Is the hope, optimism, and "dreams do come true" feeling of this book (as well as your others) a real reflection of Patti Berg herself?

Patti: Gee, what were my emotions while I was writing WIFE? I wanted to get it finished!!! Actually, I was very scared writing a book that didn't have any paranormal elements. I was afraid my loyal readers would hate the book when, in fact, most people seemed to love it (thank goodness). But, I was bogged down with a lot of fear as I wrote the story, so that's why I was glad when it was finished. This story went through a lot of changes while it was being written. I had the basic idea: Samantha, a down-on-her-luck seamstress, poses as a millionaire's fiance for one night and ends up having to play the part a little bit longer, resulting in some complications. But I didn't have too many of the little details worked out. Sam was such a spunky character, but I had to have a reason for her being broke and living in her car, when she had a good work ethic. So I gave her a pretty dismal background. In spite of her childhood, in spite of her mom being a prostitute, Sam continually remembered things her "Mama" always told her, you know, good down-home wisdom, stuff that got Sam through life. Sam is the epitome of the cockeyed optimist. She had a mean loan shark on her tail, but she was determined not to let him get the better of her! But all of these things just evolved as I wrote the story. They weren't thought out in advance. The same goes for Jack's 16 year old son. The scenes between Jack and Beau are some of my favorite scenes in the book. (Okay, I love the thong scene between Jack and Samantha, too!) I don't know how a father and son would relate to each other after being apart for 16 years, but these two characters just clicked. Gosh, I wish I knew where everything for WIFE FOR A DAY came from. I wish I could duplicate it! I would have to say that yes, optimism, hope, and that dreams-can-come-true feeling is part of my outlook on life. I don't think I set out to convey that in my books - I think it just happens!

Vic: And of course, we cannot let you get away without finding out what's in the "cooker!" What's coming up next from Patti Berg, and how soon??!!??

Patti: BRIDE FOR A NIGHT is coming up next - in May, as a matter of fact. No, BRIDE is not a sequel to WIFE FOR A DAY. Cathy Maxwell, who calls it "Charming, sexy and fun!" also dubbed it "Indiana Jones meets his secret baby." Of course, there's a lot more that happens in the book before my Indiana Jones - Duncan Kincaid - meets the child he fathered the night he married Cairo McKnight. Duncan, a world-renowned adventurer, is secretly looking for a lost city of gold, reputedly buried beneath the Montana prairies. And, while Duncan is looking for the city of gold, Cairo McKnight is looking for Duncan. It's been five years since he disappeared after one night of wedded bliss. Cairo's not too sure she wants Duncan back in her life, but she needs his help to keep her archaeological tour business from going down the tubes. She has also decided it might be time for him to help out with their very precocious son - of course, he's got to prove his worth before she plans to tell him about the child. And let me tell you - Duncan proves his worth deep inside some spectacular caves, where he - and Cairo - discover a lot more than a city of gold! Along the way, you'll meet their son Dylan, who makes me laugh every time I think of his antics. You'll also laugh at the romance between Cairo's Aunt Phoebe, a flower child who's never quite grown up, and Duncan's father Graham, a conservative who's bound to a wheelchair. If you're looking for a light, fast, fun read - BRIDE FOR A NIGHT is just the thing!

Right now I'm working on a story that I absolutely love, that features Lauren Remington, the sister of Jack Remington - my hero from WIFE FOR A DAY. I got a ton of requests for Lauren's story and I'm having a ball writing it! It's scheduled to be out in March 2001.

I'm in the process of updating my webpages. I hope you'll drop by in a couple of weeks to check out the cover for BRIDE FOR A NIGHT and read an excerpt.

Thanks, Vickie, for asking me such great questions - which made me have to think, something that's often hard to do, especially during the holidays!

Happy New Year and New Century, everyone! May it be prosperous and romantic for all of you!