As far as romance writing goes, I’m somewhat of an anomaly. I love creating stories with original heroines and romantic heroes … but they do tend to be real people. Some have – or have had - fascinating careers as herpetologists, archaeologists, country music singers, relief workers, and translators - but money, expensive cars, and designer clothes have no part in their lives. My men and women tend to be socially responsible, concerned about our planet and its well-being. Some are vegetarian; none drive fast cars or fly off for sunbathing holidays. But that doesn’t make them any less romantic: it’s a question of how we see ourselves. If we care about and love our environment, we want to do as little damage as possible.

I also write stories with an older audience in mind: those forty and over - and that includes baby boomers. There are no unexpected pregnancies in my tales and no hidden babies. When love comes knocking on the door, it is ageless. Take my father’s crony: he married his mistress of forty years when he was 90 years old and she was 89. A week later, they departed on a long voyage across the Great Lakes in his new yacht.

   No matter how old they are, my heroes and heroines are comfortable with their age. They take care of themselves, accept their bodies, their wrinkles, and their beautiful silver hair when it appears. They also know that, along with age, they’ve gained experience, character, ideas, and interesting pasts.

   Other characters pop up in my stories too, humorous and cranky ones: old-timers who live in the midst of collected junk, cantankerous rotgut brewers, short-order cooks who imagine camouflaged flies, strange and sleepy waitresses, and many small-town busybodies. I just can’t keep these folks out. As soon as I begin to write, here they come, bursting through the literary door. And because I enjoy them all so much, they’re here to stay.