What got you started writing?

Divorce, flood and a broken neck--in that order, although I can hardly recommend this route. But in 1997, the very same elements that were suddenly making my life read like a bad country-western song also became the springboard for my writing career. “Therapeutic” journaling, after a serious equestrian accident, evolved into an inspirational story that was included in Chicken Soup for the Nurse’s Soul--and re-fueled my old dream of writing books. Then I married this great guy who shook his head and said, “stop talking about it and just do it”--you know, the old Nike approach. And before I could balk, he’d signed me up for an online writing course and made me put my keyboard where my mouth was. Not quite three years later, my agent sold the first two books in my Darcy Cavanaugh mystery series.

Your mysteries are both humorous and romantic. Why that style?

I spent nearly three decades as an emergency room nurse, the last few sprinting hospital corridors during our critical national nursing shortage. In addition to skills like advanced cardiac life support, I learned how to dodge blood, spit and the right hook of a drug-crazed gangbanger; to win a bet on blood alcohol levels by sniffing a patient’s breath--and that it’s impossible not to cry with parents over the loss of a child. In short, I learned that life is gritty and real and that sometimes a laugh and a well-timed hug are the only things that keep us believing in the promise of a happy ending. It has made me a firm believer that love and laughter are the very best medicine. So now I send my fictional nurse heroines into the fray for me and I make darned certain that there are plenty of laughs, a rich dollop of romance and--always--a happy ending.

Why the cruise ship settings?

I love cruises! The very first time I stepped aboard a cruise ship (bound for the Caribbean) it felt like that moment in Wizard of Oz when everything goes from black and white to color--luxurious surroundings, gourmet food, champagne, music, entertainment and chocolates on my pillow. Where else could an over-worked nurse become a princess for week? I was hooked and--if you glance at the travel industry statistics--so are a whole lot of other folks. More and more people are opting for cruise vacations on bigger and better ships. Can you imagine making use of rock-climbing walls, ice-skating rinks, golf-courses, top-notch fitness centers, full-service Spas, gambling casinos and glitzy shopping boutiques . . . all while sailing the ocean at 34 knots? Trust me, it’s incredible. My books offer a taste of this lifestyle and a chance for my readers to escape to exotic ports . . . as well as solve a murder.  And, because I’m dedicated, I’m willing to continue to do my own grueling cruise research.

Where do you come up with your ideas?

I’m a people watcher. I collect mannerisms, bits of dialogue, body language and physical traits from people around me much the same way a kid collects string or frogs or trading cards. I use these things to build the characters that I then throw into impossible (and always quirky) situations where their motivation and goals collide with those of the other characters around them. I based the killer in Dressed to Keel on someone I “collected” on fall foliage cruise up the North Atlantic coast.  At some point the characters begin to tell me the story and I see it evolving almost like a series of movie scenes. For me, the most fun is dialogue, when the characters actually “talk” in my head. In defense of my sanity, I can tell you that most writers experience this phenomena and welcome it, knowing that it means the story has begun to write itself. Which explains the far away look in our eyes. We’re listening. 

Beyond the humor, is there a theme or message in your books?

While the “soft-boiled” mystery genre is considered light reading, I do think that readers will relate to my heroine’s struggle to “find” herself and to accept that person for who she is as it relates to career and relationships. Darcy Cavanaugh climbs the gangway of that first cruise ship (Dressed to Keel) to escape from the pressures of her nursing career, worry over an aging relative, and the stinging humiliation of a failed relationship. Can’t we all relate to that kind of self-doubt and frustration? Here, too, laughter is good medicine: when we learn to laugh with ourselves and with others it becomes easier to accept our flaws and our differences.  

What are you working on now?

I’m completing revisions on the second Darcy Cavanaugh mystery, Aye Do or Die, which is set for release in the summer of 2007. And I’ve begun work on a third book in the series, Berth to Death, which has a Mediterranean setting. Capri, Florence, Venice, pasta, Chianti, gelato  . . . that’s going to be tough research. Visit my website and Blog where I chronicle how I suffer for my art.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Yes, three key things: read, write, and stick with it.

 Read voraciously and then write what it is that you like to read, developing your own genuine “voice,” not trying to emulate writers that you admire.

Make a daily habit of writing, set goals whether it is x-number of pages or words. Break it down into small tasks, sit your fanny down in the chair and (like my dear husband said) “just do it.” If you only write only one page (250 words) per day, you will finish a book in less than a year. Consider a writing class (online or community-based). Join a positive, supportive critique group and get writer (not spouse/friend) feedback on your work.

Stick with it and persevere, even in the face of rejection. Everyone gets rejected: Stephen King’s first book, Carrie, was rejected 30 times and J.K. Rowling received about a dozen rejections for Harry Potter. I personally queried 100 agents before signing a contract for representation--that’s ninety-nine rejections. Take ‘em on the chin and move on. Go for your dream. Trust me, it’s do-able.