So Elizabeth, what have you been up to in this last year and a half?

Writing, writing and more writing.  On the Wings of Love, my historical about early airplanes was released in January 2008, followed by The Borrowed Bride in October and the sequel, His Substitute Bride in April 2009.  My next release will be a novella for Harlequin’s Western Christmas anthology, out in October.   Currently I’m working on a third book in the Bride trilogy.  For those of you who’ve read either of the first two books, the heroine is Hannah and Quint’s daughter Clara, all grown up and finding a love of her own.  My tentative title is A Stranger’s Bride.
On other fronts, I’ve cut back on travel because of the economy, but I did enjoy a great research trip to San Francisco when I was writing His Substitute Bride.  My daughter lives in the Bay area, and we had a grand time exploring the city together.

Your newest series that began with The Borrowed Bride and continues with His Substitute Bride  takes the reader into the 20th century when the West was no longer so wild, yet you’ve successfully given the reader plenty of action. Can you tell us a little bit about His Substitute Bride?

His Substitute Bride, is an April 2009 release from Harlequin Historicals.  Those of you who met the Seavers brothers, Judd and Quint, in The Borrowed Bride will be happy to know that in this sequel, set six years later, Quint and Annie finally get their chance to fall in love.  Here’s a peek at the blurb from the back cover. 

“Dashing but cynical Quint Seavers lives for danger.  A past betrayal has made him wary of love, and he has no idea that independent, practical Annie Gustavson holds a secret longtime passion for him.  Nor does he realize that the only reason Annie has traveled to San Francisco is to win his love—or walk away forever.  When disaster strikes the city, Annie’s courage and determination match his own—and suddenly Quint knows that she’s exactly what has been missing from his life all along...” 

The story takes place in 1906 San Francisco in the days prior to the catastrophic earthquake and fire.  Quint, a crusading reporter, has invited Annie to bring Clara, to San Francisco for a visit.  The three of them become enmeshed in a web of intrigue and danger—a danger that will demand the ultimate sacrifice. 

You have roots in the west. How has this informed your writing about the west and western themes?

Western history is all around me.  Some of the country, at least, has changed little since the early days of the west.  But the open, natural spaces are being filled in all too rapidly by subdivisions, strip malls, highways and resorts.  Maybe my stories are my own way of preserving the West as it was, a place of wild beauty and high adventure.

Any lessons from the western experience we could benefit from in this century?

One that comes to mind is that we need to take care of our resources.  The old West was so vast and rich that greed and exploitation knew no limits.  Now we must recognize that those limits exist and that no one stands alone.  We must all work together to preserve what we have and make the world a better place.

Though you have written contemporaries, what draws you to want to write historicals?

Richness of setting.  Endless story possibilities.  A return to a time of spectacular action and strong traditional values.  I enjoy writing contemporaries and may write more in the future, but writing or reading a historical novel is like losing yourself in another world.

What do you enjoy most abut the writing process and what do you find the most difficult aspect of the writing process?

I tend to be a “seat of the pants” writer and only write an outline to sell the proposal.  Even then I don’t follow it closely (as long as it’s a good story the editors don’t seem to mind).  But figuring things out as I go along is hard, hard work—unfortunately it’s the only method that works for me.  I write from beginning to end and edit as I go along, so when I get to the end of my single draft, it’s pretty much done.  My favorite part is the polishing.  I’m a wordsmith at heart and making things sound better is fun for me.

You’ve been writing for years but can you share with us a little bit about your journey to getting that first book published?

I never set out to be a writer (my degree is in biology).  But in my mid thirties I needed a creative outlet, so I just started.  My first sales were children’s stories, but I always knew I wanted to write a novel about Dona Marina, the Indian woman who served as translator and mistress to Hernan Cortes.  The research alone took me a year.   The writing took me another eighteen months on an antique typewriter.  I entered the manuscript in a state contest.  It won first place and gave me the confidence to start sending it to publishers.  One editor who liked it but couldn’t buy it put me in touch with an agent friend who sold it the first time out.  That book, Mistress of the Morning Star, is still one of my favorites.

What do you do when you’re not writing?

I have a hard time sitting still, and writing involves so much of it that my favorite thing is to be up and moving.  I hike, belly dance, do yoga, garden, and learned to snowshoe this winter.  I also love to travel when I can afford it, even though those long airline flights are torture!

Thank you Elizabeth for coming back and visiting with us here at www.lovewesternromances.com

You’re very welcome.  I love your site, and it’s been a pleasure to be your guest.