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She is very sorry
to say that she
does not have
a Master’s
Degree in English
literature, nor
a PhD in English
history, although
she wishes she
did. She has a
mere Bachelor’s
Degree in Communication,
which is worthless
when it comes to
writing Historicals.
Although she does
admit, it helped
tremendously when
she was an award-winning
Producer/Writer
for PM Magazine
and the CBS/WTVJ-Miami
news division,
and again when
she produced live
international
programs for the
European Division
of Worldnet Television.
Her career-checkered
past also includes
a stint on Capitol
Hill where she
was a congressional
speech writer,
Press Secretary
and later a congressional
liaison for the
United States
Information Agency.
And to completely
confound readers
of her resume,
she was the Executive
Director of the
non-profit Washington
International
Horse Show for
almost a decade,
coming full circle
with her childhood
days of competing
on the west coast
junior equestrian
circuit. 
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This is a question that confuses readers and authors alike. There are some concrete differences and subtle ones as well. When I switched to writing longer, lusher Historicals I was forced to ask myself this question. There are some who say Regencies focus on witty wordplay and a larger cast of characters while Historicals are about passion and the emotional growth of two characters. I say, why not have it all? And that is what my goal is for each book: great characters, emotional depth, passion and humor. I consider a novel a success if it can make you laugh, cry and the characters live in your heart long after you turn the last page. ••••••••••••••••••••••
••••••••••••••••••••••
I wish I could say I was courageous. Unfortunately, I was just uninformed. When I began writing in 2000 I had read only a handful of Regency romances written by Mary Balogh and Mary Jo Putney. I didn’t know there were any rules to be broken because all the romance novels I had read contained sensual scenes. It was only after I was published that I discovered my books were unusual in the traditional genre. I give my two editors at Signet a lot of credit. Neither one of them gave me a set of rules other than to request that I attempt to write beautiful, powerful stories. ••••••••••••••••••••••
While I will never say ‘never,’ for the foreseeable future I will remain true to the time period. I’ve always been drawn to nineteenth century fiction and nonfiction. I’m also intrigued by the Georgian era, when men and women wore high heels, “patches” on their faces (like little heart shaped temporary tattoos), powdered wigs of death-defying heights, extraordinary cosmetics, and beautiful costumes. This was an era of decadence and sin, when Marie Antoinette had gold and jewel-encrusted new gowns for every day of the week. I have also written one paranormal story for an anthology to benefit Hurricane/Tsunami victims. It’s entitled Bewitched, Bothered & Bevampyred and it's available from Amazon.com. I will be bringing it to my web site shortly. I also have two screenplays moldering in a drawer somewhere. The only time I attempted to write a Contemporary novel, it was set in the world of local television news and I knew I was in trouble when the heroine kept making tea and muttering, “Botheration . . .” ••••••••••••••••••••••
Aside from reading and writing every day, you will gain so much by joining Romance Writers of America. Their website address is: www.rwanational.org. I tried to write my first manuscript closeted in my garret – just like any true gothic heroine. I got stuck about 150 pages into it and instinctively knew something was completely wrong but couldn’t put my finger on what it was. It wasn’t until I discovered RWA and started attending workshops that I finally began to untangle all the problems in my manuscript. RWA and local RWA chapters also have some wonderful contests to enter when you need anonymous feedback. And the other writers you meet are a godsend since they all speak your language. ••••••••••••••••••••••
Rejection and criticism. But then my philosophy is that no one is immune from the delights of experiencing both in life whether you write or not. I was lucky. I developed a tough hide after many years in television production. The brutal honesty of the newsroom is an education in and of itself. You either learn to write fast and well or the executive producer begins to use you for target practice. Beyond criticism, the hurry up and wait syndrome of writing a novel is difficult too. That’s where you work frantically for months on a manuscript only to wait for the rest of the process to unfold – revisions, copyedits, cover art, promotion, etc. You see your work periodically and are given short bursts of time to turn everything around. The rest of the time you must refocus and work on your next book. ••••••••••••••••••••••
There are so many things I like about writing. I love the creative process, crafting a scene that works on different levels or reworking paragraphs that do not. I think one of the reasons I write fiction is that I don’t like being put “on the spot” in conversations, meaning I find it hard to be confident and witty on the fly. But give me half an hour of quiet reflection and I can usually think of a perfect retort. I also like the fact that my “office” is my laptop and I can take it anyplace as long as there is an electrical outlet located nearby. But what I like the best about writing is that I’ll never master it. There is always something new to learn and I love a challenge. ••••••••••••••••••••••
Most mornings after my family leaves for school and work you can find me with my small brown dachshund or tabby cat curled in my lap and all of us staring at the terrifyingly blank “Black Screen of Death” for HOURS at a time . . . motionless with catatonic expressions. There are two reasons I don’t get up. One, I don’t want to disturb the little darlings on my lap. Secondly, I know I’ll just go to the kitchen and eat any and all cookies my children have not hidden away. Some call this disturbing pattern of behavior Writer’s Block. I call it something altogether unprintable. Now when procrastination settles in for a good long ride and a deadline looms I drag my derriere over to the nearest Starbucks. All those caffeine fumes in the air seem to stimulate the writing muscle in my brain.
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Sophia
and good friend 
Sophia
with 
Sophia
at the Beau Monde Tea with 
Sophia
and writing buddy Joan Mora.
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