Leah: Thank you for having me, Joey! It's so wonderful to finally reach this stage of the process where I get a chance to "talk" with the people who will be reading my books.

Joey: First, can you tell us about a little about yourself in the world outside of writing? Do you have hobbies, interests, a family?

Leah: Oh, I have a ton of hobbies and interests, but because I also have a family, I don't have time for any of them. Just kidding. I'm actually very lucky to enjoy things like skiing and golfing that I can do with my great husband and two boys. Though the six-month-old Golden Retriever puppy has pretty much been ruling our world lately, and has effectively eliminated the planting of anything I want to remain alive in my garden from my list of hobbies.

Joey: Now we start the writing questions! We'd love to hear about how you started writing. How long have you been writing and why romance?

Leah: All told, I've been writing for about fourteen years now, and always romance because, quite frankly, I'm a romantic. I love happy endings where the girl gets her fabulous guy and vice versa. If I watch a movie or read a book that ends badly, I'll lie awake rewriting the story until it's "right." Only then can I get to sleep.

Joey: What's a "typical" writing schedule for you? How do you work it in with the rest of your life?

Leah: Nowadays, my writing schedule is wholly determined by how close my deadline is. Though I have always liked to have a chapter to bring to my weekly critique group meetings, even before I was "contractually obligated" to finish a book. And since both my boys are of school age, I have plenty of time during the day to write. Thank heavens, because I'm not a fast writer. But once I get on a roll with a book, five to seven page days are pretty average. It's that whole "getting on a roll" thing that I have the most trouble with.

Joey: It's scary for new writers; they have no idea when to quit or if they should keep trying. How long did it take to get published and why did you keep going?

Leah: The beauty of being a writer is that you never "have" to quit. As long as you can find a way to commit your stories to some permanent format - paper, computer, the dust on the mantle (you did notice that housekeeping is not on my list of interests, didn't you?) - then you're a writer. It doesn't matter how old you are or how long you've been at it.

As for being a published writer, well, I only count the years that I have been a member of the Romance Writers of America and finally started to understand the process of writing for publication. And the main thing that kept me going is a quote that I taped up next to my computer. "A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit." Richard Bach. 'Nuff said.

Joey: I'd love to hear more detail on the timeline of your first story until you got published. Can you describe that (i.e., how many stories did you write, when did you get agented) for us?

Leah: Don't forget, I write LONG contemporary, but I'll do my best to encapsulate my journey. I'd already written one historical romance novel when I joined RWA back in 1994, and immediately started racking up the rejections once I found out how to submit it to the romance publishers. But I joined a critique group, went to every conference and workshop I could manage, and learned as much as I could about the craft of writing. Most important, I kept writing.

Three historical novels and one contemporary later, I was consistently finaling in writing contests, but I was still getting rejected. And I couldn't get an agent who could figure out what to do with my books, either.

Then my contemporary finaled in RWA's Golden Heart contest, and I screwed up the nerve to call the last editor to reject me. I told her about the contest and asked, if I corrected the things she'd felt were problems in the story, if she would be willing to take another look at the book. She was. Ten months later she called to buy the book.

Joey: RBL hears rumors all the time about industry happenings, but never any good insider information. Can you share with us any good submission "horror" stories from your writing - about submissions or rejections? You can laugh about it all now since you are an author with two books on the way!

Leah: Well, there was my very first submission that I printed off on brown, recycled paper because I was certain Avon would be impressed with my environmental sensitivity. That one fell in the time I don't count because I was a clueless doink.

But when I think of "horror," I think of the time an editor raved about my book in a contest she judged, wanted it sent to her ASAP because she was certain she wanted to buy it, then rejected it with a "Dear Author" letter. I only found out later that she had been in the process of leaving that publisher when my submission arrived, and she'd simply cleared her desk. Too bad she couldn't have just told me that, but there are very definite, legal reasons for the way rejection letters are worded.

My favorite, though, is the rejection I received from the editor who then went on to buy the book. It arrived in my mailbox on Dec. 31, 1999. Talk about a bummer way to end a millennium. One of these days, after she's bought about ten more books from me, I'm going to mention that to her.

Joey: I know that editors can play a light to heavy hand in directing an author's writing. With you, how was the first set of changes you had to do for the editor? Was it a lot? How did you feel doing that?

Leah: My first revisions weren't just heavy, they were a TON - in part because my editor ended up buying my book for a different line than I had submitted to. She felt the story, and my writing style, were better suited to Harlequin American Romance than Silhouette Special Edition. I needed to focus more on the Cinderella aspects of the story, eliminate three characters to make the ones I had left shine more, and move a major plot event up 100 pages to give more space to developing the romance.

When I finished, I came to the conclusion that my editor and the senior editor who also made suggestions are brilliant. The book is so much stronger and compelling now. And it wasn't an unpleasant experience at all because they were always very supportive and accessible to me, with sound reasons for what they wanted. Can you tell I like them big?

Joey: Writing is a very solitary process, but there's a lot to be said for having a support group around you. What type of groups have you joined to help with your writing?

Leah: As I mentioned earlier, RWA and my critique group deserve the credit for getting me to where I am now. Not only through support, but education.

Joey: Very interesting for readers is gaining an understanding for why authors change or don't change their writing. It's intriguing to ask a newly published writer about her long-term plans, so that we can understand how much change is actually a growth pattern planned in advance. So here I go! What are your long-term plans for writing? Do you plan to stay in the same genre of romance, etc.?

Leah: My long-term plan is to stay published! Having an acceptable outlet for the voices in my head is paramount! And as long as it is in some form of romance, I'll be very, very happy.

Joey: And what about advice for new writers. Any good books or workshops or tapes you'd suggest to help writers trying to get published? Maybe that "one book that every writer should have?"

Leah: I think the best advice I can give any writer is this - they can't buy it if they don't have it. Susan Wiggs was far more eloquent when she once told me that a ship in the harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are for. Get those submissions out there.

As far as books that helped me, the main ones were Christopher Vogler's THE WRITER'S JOURNEY, Debra Dixon's GOAL, MOTIVATION, AND CONFLICT, and Lajos Egris' THE ART OF DRAMATIC WRITING. They led to serious "Aha" moments for me.

Joey: I know you aren't an editor buying books, but you have a view into their world a bit. Potential romance writers need to think not just about how will they write their book, but how will it be sold and will anyone want to buy it. Is there any generic advice you can give on storylines, writing, targeting markets? (And I don't mean "tell us what plot to follow" - I mean how do we find out about current trends and gain an understanding for how our masterpiece might fit into today's market so we know which publisher to chase?)

Leah: Sure, save the easy questions for last! While I'm certainly no expert, I think the best thing to concern yourself with has less to do with trends - mostly because it takes an average of eighteen months for a book to hit the shelves, and you can't count on any trend to last that long - and more to do with telling a story that has a marketable hook, a conflict that can be expressed in just a sentence or two. If you can condense the essence of your story that much, it's easier to tell where it will fit, and the editors can more easily see how it can be marketed. And trust me, I know that it's easier said than done. Sorry.

Joey: I'm very excited to read your new book! I love Harlequin and now I personally know the author ... before she was published even! Can you tell us about your book coming out in May, and about any future books planned?

Leah: Well, to walk my talk, my May Harlequin American Romance, THE RICH MAN'S BABY, is a story about a man who has everything and a woman who only has their son. How's that for concise? Juliet Jones is from the wrong side of the tracks and is determined to retain her dignity even though she has already lost her heart to millionaire Harrison Rivers, a man who believed it was never good to love someone too much - until he met his eighteen-month-old son.

My second book, THE RICH GIRL GOES WILD, is Harrison's sister Ashley's story. It's about a rich girl who gets her cage rattled by a wild man. (Good thing I didn't have to sell that one off a pitch!) She's been used and has sworn to never let it happen again. Wilder MacDougal V, aka Mac Wild, is a man with secrets and a vow he can't forget.

And I'm positively tickled that for my third book, I've been asked to write book two in a continuity series for HAR. The series is called MILLIONAIRE, MONTANA, and it's about a little town that is suddenly filled with millionaires when the ticket they bought together hits the jackpot in a multi-state lottery. My story, BIG-BUCKS BACHELOR, a February 2003 release, is about the town vet, Jack Hartman, a widower who is forced to claim that he's engaged to his partner, vet Melinda Woods, after becoming a little too popular with the ladies who want to snag one of the millionaires.

Joey: Do you create characters from real life or mix them up with real life people? Or do you get them totally from your head? (I'd love to hear any specific examples from the two books you've already written that Harlequin is publishing.)

Leah: My paranoid friends and family will be relieved to know that my characters come to me of their own volition, generally complete with attitude.

The characters for my first book came to me while I was on a fishing trip with my husband, floating down the lazy McKenzie River and bored to tears. There were these huge, expensive homes on one side of the river, and these rusty trailer homes hanging off the other, and my mind went nuts. Out popped Harrison and Juliet.

Ashley, who doesn't meddle in, but "manages" the lives of those she loves, evolved of her own volition while I was writing the first book. And who better to rock her world but her exact opposite, a "wild man" who lives for his own pleasures?

Joey: What about plot lines - i.e., are they often tributes to "famous" plot lines, some piece of information that triggered an idea, or out of the blue? (Again, examples from your current to-be-published books would be great.)

Leah: Oops. I guess I kind of answered that one while answering the last question. But I try to build a plot based on what would be the worst thing that could happen to these people who start talking to me when I'm dying for sleep.

For Harrison and Juliet, being tied together in a way they couldn't avoid - having a child together - was the worst thing that could happen to them.

For Ashley and Mac, being used in some way is the worst thing that could happen to their personality types. So guess what happens in their book!

Joey: Anything else you'd like to share?

Leah: Just that I'm proof that anything is possible. Of all the books I've written, the first to sell was the one I thought was the least likely. Especially after Har/Sil, the only publisher around of books that length, rejected it. But now it's something I'm very proud of, and I couldn't be happier.

All because I was one amateur who didn't quit.