AC: Thanks for visiting from Boston! It’s great to have you here, but I think we should set one teensy ground rule: we will not discuss, talk about, or otherwise communicate about the recent Monday Night Football game wherein the Pats played the Bengals at PBS. Agreed?

CL: I’ll concede you the right to suffer your humiliation in private.

AC: Ouch! That really hurt! Why don’t we, ah, move on to safer topics? Like, say, your book, which was, of course, great. And I just love the cover—I love pretty covers.

CL: Thanks! I’m glad you like it. My editor asked me to describe a scene in the book, and then they put it on the cover.

AC: Well, it’s beautiful. I’ve been wondering, though: was it hard to redeem the hero, David? He’s the duke’s younger brother, and he hasn’t exactly been a, ah, saint in the past, has he?

CL: David was so bad…. I didn’t know why anyone would want to read more about him. I did find myself in a bit of a hole, because (whispers) I never meant to write David’s story at all! So yes, it was really difficult to think of what would make him become a better man. About the only thing I knew for certain was that he would have to suffer lots of painful consequences.

AC: He definitely needed it; in addition to his past misdeeds, David is a little immature as the book begins and has a temper tantrum or two. He’s also not known for being a hardworking contributor to society. How much fun was it to write a hero with so many rough edges?

CL: I always liked David, even when he was being horrible. But nothing was ever expected of him, and he was very good at living down to that (like many people). Probably the best part was getting to write two very different characters, Marcus (from What A Gentleman Wants) and David, from both sides. Just as I liked writing Marcus’s struggle to uphold so many expectations in the face of his love for Hannah, I liked writing David’s struggle to find himself in the face of such low expectations. It took someone with even less going for her to point out to him his strengths and advantages, someone who would need him to be a better, stronger, dependable man. Plus, Vivian, the heroine, has a very smart mouth, and it’s always fun having someone smack the hero around.

AC: We’ll get to Vivian in a minute, but first I want to talk about David a teensy bit more. His road to redemption got a little bumpier long about the time he decided to kidnap Vivian, who is an occasional highway robber, and force her to tell him what she did with the duke’s ring. Did you worry about having him do something so drastic?

CL: I have to say, that is exactly what David would do. Act first, think it through later. But he’s a stubborn guy, and also used to being shocking; he’s already horrified most people anyway, why should he worry about it now? I think it would have been jarring and unbelievable if he had just overnight become a staid, proper man who followed all the laws and didn’t get charged up at the thought of a challenge. At almost every turn, Vivian provides a mystery and a challenge to David, and that is what fascinates him most of all.

I think my heroes and heroines both mirror each other and complement each other. David and Vivian are both solitary people, but David has always been taken care of (by his family) and Vivian has felt responsible for her brother her entire life. I always try to flip those roles somehow at the end, so they can each walk in each other’s shoes, so to speak.

AC: Vivian is quite the pistol. She loves to read books, watch plays, and eat everything in sight. She’s also fiercely protective of her younger brother. Is there any of YOU hiding in Vivian?

CL: Hey, wait a minute; are you calling me a pig??? Hmm.

AC: Well … I have shared an order of ribs with you, but we digress.

CL: There’s part of me in all my heroines. Isn’t that true for you, Ann?

AC: Absolutely. I think an author’s traits leak through to the characters to some extent no matter what. It’s a hazard of the trade.

CL: It’s a little more subtle with Vivian, though, because I was already stuck with a hero and thus had to create a heroine who fit with him. As I was staring into space, wondering what on earth David could do to make her stop hating him (because she really does start off hating him!), it did occur to me that good food would go a long way in gaining MY good opinion, so that was one of the things David gave her. He feeds her really, really tasty food, including chocolate he prepares and serves her himself.

AC: I think we all fell in love with David at that point!

CL: And if you don’t see the potential in a sexy man feeding you something chocolate, well…

AC: Oh, I’m with you, sister!

Tell me … what was the hardest thing about writing this book? The easiest?

CL: The hardest thing was the ending. DO you know, I didn’t realize until just a month or two ago that Vivian never actually tells David she loves him? She says it, in an oblique sort of way, but David is the one who spills his heart in a passionate declaration.

The easiest was the love scenes.  Really, nothing was off-limits for David…

AC: Yeah. I noticed. *VBG*

What do you like best about the book?

CL: I suppose my favorite part of the book was making David more aware of another person’s needs and desires, bringing him around to not only respect them but to look out for them. Perhaps my favorite scene in the book is right after they make love for the first time, and Vivian contemplates leaving him—and David does nothing to stop her.

AC: Oooh, yeah, that was a great scene—one of those, “If you love someone, set them free” scenes.

CL: I thought that was so important for both characters, for each to know that the other chose to be with them for themselves.

AC: Very poignant, no doubt about it.

So, what’s on the drawing board for you?

CL: My next book will be out in June 2008, titled A Rake’s Guide to Seduction. It’s the story of David’s younger sister Celia, and it was another challenge. Celia was young, romantic, sweet and kind…i.e., nothing like my other heroines. That was hard for me to handle because I obviously like my women a little bit wicked.

AC: We’ve noticed!

CL: But I absolutely adore her hero; he was in one of my (unpublished) practice novels, and I liked him so much he came back!

AC: Can’t wait to read that one!

Caroline, it’s been great having you here! Thanks for stopping by! Oh, and do tell the Pats we’ll get ‘em next time!

CL: My pleasure! I’ll be sure to let the Pats know; no doubt they are quivering in their undefeated boots this very moment…

AC: Hey! Get outta here! No, wait. Stick around for questions and comments, and we can give away some books to a lucky commenter at the end of the day. Questions or comments for Caroline, anyone?