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I didn't know anything about romance novels until a friend suggested that I try writing one. After I read a few, I realized that my favorite part of fiction had always been the relationship aspect.

It's a luxury to be able to tell a long form story. I love novels, and I love to have a long relationship with characters.

I love my life, my family and my friends, and I'm drawn to 'relationship' novels because of their affirming focus on the power of love to heal wounds and transform lives.

I believe all stories are love stories, and there are kinds and kinds of love, so I will always write about love, but not necessarily romance.

I write the kinds of novels I like to read, where the setting is rendered with love and care.

I'm more interested in interpersonal relationships - between lovers families, siblings. That's why I write about how we treat each other.

I'm a feminist, but I think that romance has been taken away a bit for my generation. I think what people connect with in novels is this idea of an overpowering, encompassing love - and it being more important and special than anything and everything else.

Most mainstream male fiction is littered with heroines, and female characters are basically so great, you want to fall in love with them.

I love to have real people of history interact with my fictional characters. History gives me the plot. I research the period meticulously, and then I blend in a romantic and sensual love story to give it balance. The heavier the history, the more romantic the couple must be.

I love novels where not much 'happens' but where the interest is in the ideas and analyses of characters.