FROM LISA KLEYPAS

Answer to comment # 2 ( Airel81 )

Dear Airel81,

Thank you . . . if you try one of my books, I hope you will enjoy it!

Answer to comment # 3 ( Naan )

Dear Naan,

What kind comments--thank you so much, you have made me smile! I'll tell you how I met my husband . . . I was going out with another man for a few months, a very nice and gentle man. But he was too passive for me, he never had opinions about anything, and he was not the kind of man I could depend on. I finally broke up with him, but I felt a little guilty about it, because he was very sweet. So I was talking to one of my friends named Cristi, and she told me that she had a tall, handsome, blond brother named Gregory, and he was coming to visit her. She introduced us, and I was very attracted to him, and I gave him my telephone number. The next night he called me, and I had such a wonderful time talking to him that I burst out with, "I wish we could talk like this every night forever!" And he said, "We can." And less than a year later, we were married.

I agree with your comments about pioneers . . . they were remarkable people, and it would probably be a very adventurous and exciting story. I will keep that in the back of my mind in case I need ideas for the future!

Answer to comment # 5 ( Hatshepsut81 )

Dear Hatshepsut,

If I did pose for a cover, it would definitely be with my husband . . . I don't think he would tolerate me posing with anyone else! But I enjoy writing the novels so much, I am more than happy to leave the modeling to other women.

When I was in the Miss Massachusetts competition, my ambition was still to be a writer. One of the reasons I entered was because I had never felt very beautiful, and I thought that maybe if I learned how to walk and dress and put on makeup, I would finally have confidence in how I looked. But ironically, the thing I learned was that even after I won an award and someone put a crown on my head, I was still aware of all my imperfections . . . how short I was, the size of my nose, those kinds of flaws. And I finally realized that feeling beautiful was not going to come from the outside . . . it is from becoming the person you are meant to be. I think confidence makes a woman beautiful. And loving other people, and finding work that satisfies you . . . all that fulfills you, and gives you the glow of happiness. I feel more beautiful now as a middle-aged woman than I did as a young woman in my twenties.

Answer to comment # 7 (Susa)

- many of her books are at the top of readers' polls, and especially Dreaming of you is considered by many people as her masterpiece. Does she agree? In all the books she wrote so far, which is the one she is more fond of ?

Dear Susa,

You are so sweet, thank you! "Dreaming Of You" will always have a special place in my heart because it was the first time I dared to write a love story featuring a non-aristocratic hero. When I look at it now, I see parts of the writing that I would like to polish and make a little better . . . but I think that book marked the moment when I became confident as an author and wrote something purely my own, instead of trying to imitate someone else's style. Every now and then when I write a book, I feel an intense connection to the story and characters, and long passages seem to come straight from a place in my unconscious. "Dreaming Of You" was one of those. "Again The Magic" and "Devil In Winter" were others, and also "Blue Eyed Devil."

- have she ever thought of choosing as settings for her books pioneers' times, or the Middle Ages?

I have thought using different settings for my stories . . . I would love to write a book set in Colonial or Victorian America, and if I could ever find the time to do all the research, definitely Middle Ages! Pioneers' times is really intriguing . . . I don't think I've read one of those in a long time.

Answer to comment # 8 (Maristella)

Dear Maristella,

Thank you, I'm so glad you enjoyed "Somewhere I'll Find You." About series . . . I was so happy that my Wallflowers were successful in the US, especially because the overriding theme of all four books was the power of female friendship. I loved showing women supporting each other, joking with each other, facing all the challenges of life together, and in this framework, the love stories seemed to have an extra dimension and sweetness. You make a very good point about secondary characters . . . it is very easy for them to steal the focus of the story, especially when the book is crowded with people from previous books! I struggle with this issue sometimes, because I love so many of my secondary characters. But I try to remember always that the point of the story is to show the love and intimacy between the two main characters. That is the only way for a romance novel to be truly satisfying.

Answer to comment # 10 (Tiziana)

Thank you, Tiziana, you are a dear!