Fiona: I live in the Bay of Islands, a sub-tropical tourist area on the east coast of New Zealand. We don't get great extremes of temperature, but we do have nice long, warm summers, and the beaches are great. I've lived in the Bay of Islands most of my life--it's rural and relaxed, and I love it. Before I started writing, I worked for the New Zealand Forest Service as a stores clerk. I left that job to start a family, and when I reached a stage where I could begin to think again (after three years of diapers and sleepless nights!), I decided to have a go at writing--something that I'd decided that I would do "one day."

Sarah: Did you always want to be a writer? How did you get your first book published?

Fiona: I always had a feeling that writing was something that I could do well--if I ever got myself to the point where I could actually start. Starting is the thing. In the end, I had what another writer friend calls an "Aha!" moment, when I picked up a romance book and decided that I could do this. Unfortunately, getting a book published wasn't anywhere as easy as having the revelation that I could write, and that I could succeed. After deciding it would take me a couple of years to sell a book, it took five.

Sarah: What's your writing routine like?

Fiona: Patchy. I write mostly during school hours, when the house is quiet. But, depending on what's happening with the kids, with school holidays, etc., that schedule can get blown out of the water. If I have to, I write in the evenings, and I periodically go away to a writer's retreat when I need to get a lot of work done quickly.

Sarah: Do you have a favourite author and what are your all time favourite reads?

Fiona: I've got a few favourite authors. Linda Howard would top the list, also Kathleen Eagle, Jayne Anne Krentz, Iris Johansen, Laura Kinsale, Patricia Simpson. My all time favourite reads are SON OF THE MORNING by Linda Howard, and FIRE AND RAIN by Kathleen Eagle. Military/suspense romance has become a real favourite of mine in recent years.

Sarah: Have you always wanted to write in this particular vein, and how do you do your research?

Fiona: In the beginning I didn't set out to write military romantic suspense, although I did love the ones that I'd read by Linda Howard and Suzanne Brockmann. When I started to write, I was trying to get published by Harlequin Presents. Of course, they kept rejecting my books, because I couldn't keep the suspense out of them. When I began trying to sell to Silhouette, I was looking for an angle for my heroes that would facilitate the suspense plots over a series of books. Using a military theme, which had become popular, and which I personally enjoyed, was an easy answer--and using the Special Air Service, our own special forces, gave the books a distinctive down under touch.

With the research ... Well, I watched documentaries, and read lots of reference books and personal accounts of battle. I loved reading those books so much that I almost changed genres, because according to one editor I'd submitted a manuscript to, I hadn't produced a romance so much as a spy story. Needless to say, that book got rejected. To round out my research, I interviewed a former SAS sniper team commander who had left the military and retrained as a police detective.

Sarah: Do you hope to write more stories with a paranormal angle?

Fiona: I love paranormals, so it's a safe bet I'll write more. In fact my next book, a single title, has a paranormal angle to it.

Sarah: Where did the ideas for the Lombards come from?

Fiona: When I began writing, I started doing 55,000 word Harlequin Presents plots, with Italian heroes. When those stories just wouldn't sell, I switched to series romantic suspense for Silhouette, and kept my Italian guys. I just liked them!

Sarah: I love your heroes, and their very alpha nature; where does your inspiration come from?

Fiona: My inspiration is a mixture of all sorts of things picked up over years of reading and watching movies. I like really take charge guys (on the page, that is!). I think that, first and foremost, my heroes come from my fantasy of what a fictional hero should be at the time I'm writing the book. I find, as I'm getting older--and hopefully, wiser--that the more intelligent, and just plain likeable, a hero is, the more I enjoy writing him.

Sarah: From what I have read on the net, you have been nominated for and won several awards. How does that feel?

Fiona: It's always nice to win an award. When you're sitting at home, all by yourself, sometimes you doubt yourself, and it's hard to hear the applause. An award, or a nice review, is a real statement that you're doing okay. It's there on paper, and you can cheer yourself up by looking at it when things aren't going so well with the book.

Sarah: Would you like to write a single title, and if so, any ideas?

Fiona: My next book is a single title. It's being published by Silhouette books some time in 2004. At present I don't have a title, but I can tell you that it is a romantic suspense with a paranormal element.

Sarah: How does living in New Zealand affect your work?

Fiona: Living in New Zealand, I think, has enhanced my career as a writer, because my writer's voice is automatically distinctive in the American market. With regard to selling work and working with publishing professionals, there's no problem other than the extra time it takes to courier manuscripts back and forth. Other than that, most business is conducted by phone, email, or fax.

Sarah: Do you get to meet up with and work with other romance authors here in New Zealand or Australia?

Fiona: I meet up socially with other romance writers mainly at writing conferences here in New Zealand, in Australia, and in the States. I don't work with any other romance authors, as I generally don't want to discuss my plots. I like to let the story work its way out in a natural all-my-way fashion, so I know that book is mine. Most writers are like that-- their work-in-progress is very private. Another romance writer, Robyn Donald, lives just five minutes away from me, so we meet for lunch every now and then, which is great. It's always nice to sit and chat with someone who's in the same business--plus, Robyn's been a mentor of mine for years and I really respect her knowledge and insight.

Sarah: What have you got planned for the Sinclair series?

Fiona: Nothing much yet, except one book for Cole Sinclair. I've been sitting on that story for years now--a small town, ranch story which is going to be a lot of fun to write. I'm not sure when I'll get to that book, because there are three others queued in front of it at the moment, and two of those are single titles; the other is Carter Rawling's story.

Sarah: What are you currently working on?

Fiona: My current work-in-progress is a single title for Silhouette books. A romantic suspense with a paranormal angle. I don't have a title yet, as I've barely started, and am still discussing details with my editor.