Q. Do the books in your series need to be read in order?
A. No, each book in both the “Golden City” and “Sinner’s Grove” series is a stand-alone novel. However, characters introduced in one book are often the protagonists in another one. For example, Gus Wolff, the protagonist of The Art of Love has a partner, Will Firestone, who is the focus of The Depth of Beauty, and so on. Reading the books in order is a good way to immerse yourself in the world of each series, but not required.
Q. One of your series (The Golden City) is historical fiction and the other (Sinner’s Grove Suspense) is in a completely different genre. Is there any link between the two series?
A. Yes. The main characters in the contemporary romantic suspense series called “Sinner’s Grove” are descendants from some of the characters in “The Golden City.” In the novel Sinner’s Grove, in fact, there is a “mini mystery” relating back to the historical time period. So, if you’re reading my work for the story and its characters, you will find an even greater understanding of them by reading across the genres.
Q. Where did the name “Sinner’s Grove” Come from?
A. The idea for Sinner’s Grove started more than a decade ago while I was living in San Anselmo, a little town north of San Francisco in Marin County. If you drive due west from there, you’ll come to the Point Reyes National Seashore. The land in between is gorgeous, with a series of little town giving way to dairy farms which then morph into hills and trees and coastline. My sister-in-law and I would poke around the area and wonder aloud what it would be like to live there, a world apart from the crazy energy of the greater San Francisco Bay Area. We brainstormed and came up with a fictional bayside community called Little Eden. And you know where there’s Eden, there’s got to be some sin … and the idea of Sinner’s Grove was born.
Q. How about “The Golden City”?
A. That was one of the many monikers given to San Francisco as it grew to prominence after the mid nineteenth century. The origin of that particular nickname isn’t set in stone, but my guess is that it stems from the city’s explosive growth after the California Gold Rush of 1849. Another popular nickname of that period was “The Paris of the West,” and some really did consider San Francisco a reincarnation of “Sodom and Gomorrah” because of its legendary (and licentious) Barbary Coast district. Today San Franciscans don’t use “The Golden City” to describe their town because it sounds too boastful, but at the turn of the twentieth century it was an apt description.
Q. Your historical novels, in particular, seem to contain a fair amount of period detail. How do you go about researching those novels and how much of it can the reader take as being true?
A. I read a lot, and I skim a lot, looking for bits and pieces that will work for the story that I’m writing. Sometimes my hunt takes me in directions that I hadn’t considered before I started; sometimes I find characters who are simply too fascinating to ignore. Sofie Herzog from The Price of Compassion is one such character. It’s a fun part of the writing process, and I try to stay true to the historical record whenever possible (other than the figures interacting with my characters, of course!). You’ll find a list of sources I’ve used for my historical fiction on the individual book page.
Q. Do you have book club questions for your books?
A. It depends on the themes addressed in the books. If the story tackles subjects that are “book club worthy,” you’ll find questions on the individual book page. Generally speaking, my historical fiction lends itself more to discussion than my romantic suspense, which is just good old fashioned escapist fiction.
