A: Once upon a time I used to travel 24/7, perform on stage, do wild, crazy things, then I became a writer. Nothing was gonna change, I figured. Glamorous book signings, cocktails with my editor, long lunches with my agent planning my career, Letterman and Leno, right? Alas, writers write. Long hours writing, editing, re-writing, researching, and waiting to hear from my agent and editor...but I wouldn't change a thing. I love it.
I live near the beach so when I'm not writing, I check out the waves, especially when the swell is good. I also spend time just walking on the beach. Thinking about writing.

Q: What are your two favorite books of all time, and why?

A: I've written just about everything--from nonfiction business and sex books to contemporary romance to historical. But like Scarlett O'Hara choosing a beau from among her suitors, I found my niche in first person fiction.
Whether it's young adult (as in Chiva, the story of a young surfer trying to shake his addiction through the help of his friend's ghost) or my three Kennedy girls hopping aboard the freedom train in 1960 to find their place in history, I love getting into the character's skin. Kinda like acting--you become the character and share their highs and lows. I also love adventure. Whether it's history or modern, I'm there!

Q: How do you come up with the idea for a book? Once you have an idea, do you plot it out, fly by the seat of your pants, or what?

A: Getting an idea for a book is like an itch you can't reach. You twist, you turn, you moan, you grab, you'll do just about anything to scratch that itch. When I get a book idea, I get that itch. I go crazy, tearing through old materials, looking for research, surfing the Internet, jotting down notes on bits of paper, hoarding the notes like they're pieces of a treasure map, acting out scenes, recording dialogue, anything to keep from having to sit down and write the darn book.
You see, the fun is in the creating. The work is in the writing. Take The Kennedy Girls. I saw a picture in the LA Times of Kennedy Girls from 1960 and I noticed they all looked alike. No diversity. I wondered, what if one of those girls was pretending to be something she wasn't? What if she was black passing for white? Why would she do that? Once I answered that question, I was off and running.
Before I could plot out the book, I had to know everything about that week in July 1960 when the Democratic National Convention met in Los Angeles. I knew the outcome--JFK won the nomination--but wouldn't it be fun if I created a scenario where a trio of young women helped put him there? How could they do that? Research and more research is my motto. You can have the passion for a story, but it you don't know the world in which your characters live, you're gonna sink. I poured over microfilm, old newspapers, newsreels, books, diaries, anything I could find about JFK. I even visited the apartment building in LA where JFK and the girls stayed during the convention.
Once I felt comfortable in that world, I plotted out enough of the story to get started. Kinda like backpacking through Europe--you set a destination, but you never know what's gonna happen on the way there. I once ended up in a gypsy camp in Belgium at the end of the summer harvesting. Music and food and dancing around a big fire--I couldn't have known that was gonna happen, but it was a memorable night. Just like I didn't know one of my Kennedy girls was the reason a certain delegate changed his votes. That's what makes it fun!

Q: Do you ever use real people as the inspiration for characters in your books? If so, why do you choose those particular people?

A: Louise Pardue, the African American girl in The Kennedy Girls, was inspired by a friend. I'm a member of the Writers Guild of America (I wrote daytime and kids' TV scripts) and I've served on the Women's Committee. A few years ago, I took on the job of contacting former members of our committee and inviting them to a function we were sponsoring. I became friends with a member--talking to her only on the telephone. We shared the ups and downs of being a writer, being women writers in particular, but I had no idea she was African American until we met for coffee. When I told her it never occurred to me to ask her anything about her background, she admitted she didn't say anything because she had faced prejudice within the industry and didn't want to jeopardize our friendship. (I later faced prejudice myself when I was invited to a diversity seminar at a major film studio and was told "this is for minority writers"--but I stayed anyway). We've remained friends and her struggles in the education system inspired Louise's character, (my friend has since received her Ph.D.).

Q: Do you have any closing thoughts you would like to share?

A: Freedom is the theme of The Kennedy Girls. Freedom to follow our dreams and be the best we can be. Freedom to be a writer. It doesn't get any better than that for me. We can never lose that freedom.