Justine: I always made up stories, and as a kid I thought everyone had these ideas spinning around in their heads. I started out using characters from my favorite TV shows, and making up the stories the show writers never could get right in my view. *G* But I never thought I could be a writer; writers were "special."

My first real full-time job was with a police department in a beach town where the population tripled in the summer. It was many things, but never, ever dull, and I liked that so much I stayed. And stayed. After I sold my first book, I followed good advice and kept my day job (which was really my night job, since I worked graveyard most of the time) for another six years. It was exhausting, essentially working two full-time jobs, but very satisfying. I know I'm fortunate in that I've had two jobs I love - many people never even get one.

Joey: You've written a variety of genres from categories to suspense to futuristic to mystical. Do you have a particular favorite? Where do you plan to concentrate your writing in the future?

Justine: I love them all. Sadly, given that there are only so many hours in a day, and too many of mine are taken up with the weird turns of real life, it's impossible to write them all. I still greatly enjoy writing category, and plan to continue indefinitely. Right now, besides Silhouette, I am contracted for romantic suspense single titles. I'm trying hard to keep the balance between the suspense and the romance, since it's the combination that I most enjoy.

Joey: One book you wrote, A WHOLE LOT OF LOVE, stands out in quite a few of our board members' minds as one of category romance's best reads. It was one of the few books to feature a full-figured heroine. Did you get any push back for wanting to write this story? Also, what inspired you to move beyond the "typical" heroines of category romances?

Justine: Ah, Layla! I did love that woman. That story was based on a real incident; the ugly auction thing really happened. After reading the news clip about it, I was determined to give that woman the hero she deserved. When I called my editor, Leslie Wainger, by chance she had seen the same story I had and I no sooner said, "I want to give her a happy ending," than Leslie said, "Do it. Now. I want that book!" So an adventurous editor helps.

Joey: Your men are very strong, very alpha males: Clay Yeager, Jess Harper, Jason Hawk ... I can't think of a book that you've written that hasn't featured a stubborn, intense man. Do you mold them based on the types of stories? Or do you do "the characters themselves do what they want" as you write?

Justine: They are? *G* I've found that even when I try to write "softer" heroes, like Aaron Montana in HIGH STAKES, they still end up pretty alpha. Some more so than others, obviously, but I'd like to think every hero I write has a solid core based on his own beliefs, a code that he lives by that gives him his own kind of honor. It may not be obvious, but it's there, and if he is pushed too far he will take a stand. I believe John Mellencamp was right: "You've gotta stand for something, or you'll fall for anything."

Sometimes my ideas begin with the characters, in which case the plot grows from them rather than the other way around. Other times I come up with a situation, and my first move is still to ask, what kind of person would get into this mess? Or what kind of person would truly hate to be in this situation, or really be out of their element? And sometimes I'll discover a story that isn't working simply needs a little role reversal: my next Intimate Moments, ONE OF THESE NIGHTS, is one of those. I call it "La Femme Nikita" meets "The Absent-minded Professor."

Joey: That sounds cool! Can you tell us about the next few books you have coming out? I'm sure you have plans for both category and single title, and we'd love to hear a little "blurb" on each of them, as well as release dates.

Justine: I have three scheduled in the next six months:
      AVENGING ANGEL, coming out in December 2002, is a single title for NAL/Onyx. The short blurb (which I pitched to my editor, and her eyes lit up) is: The heroine runs a battered women's shelter, and someone starts murdering the batterers. Catherine Coulter called it "Over the top justice!" It was sort of hard not to root for the serial killer in this one!

      THE PRINCE'S WEDDING is for the IM Romancing the Crown in-line series. This is the final book of the series, and while it comes after the resolution of the mystery element, and as such stands quite nicely alone, it does wind up the romance that has run as a background thread through all the books. The heroine is a very American woman, and that plays a large part in the story.

      ONE OF THESE NIGHTS, coming out in February 2003, is for Silhouette Intimate Moments, and is part of the Redstone Incorporated mini-series. This is my second Redstone book, and I had great fun with it. This is the role-reversal story I mentioned, with a very competent bodyguard who happens to be female, and a brilliant but eccentric inventor who has trouble just keeping his car running.

Joey: Your Trinity Street West series for Intimate Moments is very well known on the board. I know authors hate these types of questions, but what inspired you to write about a group of police officers? And did you plan the continuing theme with Clay Yeager from the beginning?

Justine: Thank you. I loved writing the Trinity West books. And actually, because of my background, I was approached by Silhouette to do that series. Fortunately I was given very wide guidelines, just to do a police series. It was a natural fit. And yes, I planned Clay from the beginning, although I had no idea who he really was, what had happened to him, or where he was now. I only knew he was a Trinity West legend, and that I was going to have to work to make him worth all the buildup.

Joey: I read two futuristics by you and loved them. Have you ever written science fiction? With the upsurge in paranormal popularity, do you have plans to revisit either futuristic or other paranormals (such as the "magical book" in your Hawk series)?

Justine: No SF in my writing past. I guess STAR WARS just hit me at a very impressionable time in my life! I loved the futuristics, and still do, but unfortunately marketing became problematical. Hopefully, the third book I'd planned to write to follow LORD OF THE STORM and THE SKYPIRATE will someday see print, but I have no idea when or where. (Maybe I'll just have to pull a Stephen King and publish it on my Website!) I loved doing the paranormal elements in the Hawk books, and still get mail asking for the wizard's story; perhaps if my publisher comes to believe paranormal really does sell.

Joey: As I mentioned earlier, you write a variety of books styles (category, single title, mainstream mystery). Do you have a preference for any particular type?

Justine: I find that if I maintain enough variety in what I'm writing, I can also maintain my enthusiasm for each type. If I have to write the same kind of thing book after book after book, one after the other, it begins to resemble company you like, but who stay too long. That's why I'm excited about my new Redstone series. It's a very broad canvas, and I can dabble in a lot of places!

Joey: Even your books that are more mainstream still have strong romantic themes. What do you see, or rather get out of, romance writing that makes you continue in that genre?

Justine: No matter what I'm writing, my core beliefs don't change, and I think that's reflected in my work. I believe there's enough heartache and pain in the world, and while I don't flinch at writing about it, I refuse to leave my readers - and myself - in that hopeless, helpless place. Recently I have spent far too much time waiting in hospital rooms and doctor's offices, and I've come to appreciate even more the joy and triumph romances provide. Sometimes hope is the only thing that keeps you going, and anything that can provide that hope should be treasured.

Joey: Do you read much fiction yourself? What authors do you particularly like (romance or non-romance alike)?

Justine: I read as much as I have time for, which is never enough. Too much time needed to cruise the news for ideas and read nonfiction for research, so I have to spend my limited time carefully. Elizabeth Lowell is a guaranteed great read I never miss (although I tend to hoard them until I really need that guarantee fulfilled), as is Jayne Ann Krentz under any name. Linda Howard, Iris Johansen, or Kay Hooper - all of whom I've read since category days. I love the occasional Regency for a bit of relief from the contemporary grit. I also try to pick out a new author to try on a regular basis. And of course there are classics I keep to reread over and over - Mary Stewart in particular, the founding mother we all owe so much to.

Outside the genre, I like mysteries, including any and all by Dick Francis. I also like J.A. Jance, Sue Grafton (how can you resist somebody who started writing by plotting how to kill her ex?), and have recently discovered a fairly new writer, Rick Riordan, whose Tres Navarre series looks promising. I own almost everything Louis L'Amour ever wrote. I love WWII fiction and wish the historical romance market would open up for it. And I, like half the world, it seems, am anxiously awaiting the next Harry Potter. Guess I should shut up now, and go read, huh?

Joey: One final question we always like to ask our authors is if they have any advice for would-be or unpublished writers who may be reading this interview.

Justine: Sure, I always have advice, as long as you realize it's worth what you paid for it. *G* Idealistically, I'd say write what you love. Don't try to write to a trend, it'll be gone by the time you get the book finished and it sees print. You can't manufacture passion in this genre. If you don't truly love it, it will show. More practically, I highly recommend going to writers' conferences. If you can't make the big ones, find a smaller local one and start there. Not only is there something exhilarating in being among other writers - we seem to feed off each other, and it's nice to know you're not alone in this insanity - you never know whom you might meet who can be of help to you later on. I met one of my editors in the line for the ladies room!

Joey: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us. I know that I eagerly await every new book you write!

Justine: You're welcome. And thank you. Writing is an isolated business, so it's good for me to be reminded reading doesn't have to be!