Tell us about your latest novel Marrying Up.

Marrying Up is a fun and suspenseful story of family, love and tradition. Paris Montague, the main character, is secretly dating a man her family finds unsuitable while trying really hard to like the man they think is right for her, only he has big secrets in his closet that shake the foundations of everything she knows to be true.

Where does the title Marrying Up come from?

I got the idea for the title from a discussion with friends as they reviewed mother wit—The idea that they could do bad by themselves and that although they didn’t necessarily need to marry rich men, they should at least aspire to marry someone who at least made as much, if not more than they did.

What made you want to become a novelist?

I always was a closet writer, even when I was in graduate school. I never thought about being a novelist, like so many people I was taking the safe route, doing something I knew could earn a paycheck. Then one day it was just the logical thing to do, the thing that could let me have the lifestyle I wanted and do the thing I truly loved, whether I got paid for it or not.

How difficult was it for you to get your first book deal? (i.e. rejection letters, delays, etc.)

 Back in 1999, I quit my job and then proceeded to finish writing and self-publish my first book as opposed to sending out query letters. I thought it would be easier than being rejected (ha ha). I had every intention of self-publishing my second as well, but it caught the eye of my current agent and she sold it shortly thereafter.

Currently you are on a book tour with other authors.  Tell us a little about that and if would you do it again in the future.

I would most certainly do it again. In such a solitary business, it is wonderful that the women of the Femme Fantastik Tour have proven to be hard working and fun and you wouldn’t believe the things you learn from your girlfriends! I can’t tell you any of those things, I’m sworn to secrecy.

How do you measure a novel's success (i.e. good reviews, good feedback from readers, units sold, etc.)

 Its successful when I have completed it. I have learned that you can’t make everyone happy, and reviews are not always based solely on the book, but sometimes on things you as an author have said to readers, impressions you have made or a nerve something in the book has hit. I take those with a grain of salt and move on.

What projects are you working on for the future?

My agent is currently shopping a literary book I have written under a different name, and Just Short of Crazy will be out next summer. It has the same characters (and some new ones) as Marrying Up. I also submitted a piece to an erotic anthology, edited by Carol Taylor to be published some time next year. 

Have you noticed any changes or trends in the literary industry since your first novel was published?

Oh yeah. Urban has gotten big and seems to be waning now. Things change and they stay the same.

Being that this is your fourth novel, are there things that you know now that you wish you would have known when your first novel was published?

Not really. I learn things about craft and about the business with each book. But I know I had to go through all those steps I went through to get to where I am today. 

Have any friends or family approached you differently now that you are an established author? Friends maybe, but family always keep it real (at least mine does).

People who never gave me the time of day in high school and college look me up now. And those people that doubted when I said I was going to write a book have lost their doubts. I also think that I have earned respect from my true friends by having the courage to take a chance and do something I truly like.