Hi Janet and welcome to A Romance Review. I am so glad you have agreed to do this interview.

Let's get started!

First let me ask you to tell our readers a little about yourself.

I am a Mainer, I have lived here all of my life, and I've been married to a wonderful man for twenty-seven years. We have two sons who have now ventured out into the world, and a menagerie of animals - both domestic and wild - that fill our already rich lives. My husband's favorite sport has always been anything to do with the outdoors, while my favorite sport has always been reading - which I thankfully find can also be done outdoors. We go boating a lot, and I just read while my husband fishes. Our nest is empty now, but for the three cats who don't seem to want to venture any further into the world than beyond our immediate dooryard.

Can you tell me a little about your road to publication? How long were you writing before you sold your first book? Can you remember the details of "the call" and did you do anything special to celebrate your first sale?

My road to publication began about ten years ago, when I woke up one morning with the urge to write a book. Honestly, it happened just that suddenly and strangely. I had never wanted to write anything, not even letters to friends. Some odd little switch turned on in my head that winter of 1994, and I sat down at the computer and I wrote a book! Having enjoyed the experience, I wrote another one. Quickly deciding that this was a great way to get those stories out of my head to make room for more, I wrote another book. I couldn't stop! I filled my closet with eight books before it finally dawned on me that I should probably try to get them published. So I attended Romance Writer's of America conferences and found a great writing workshop, The Writer's Retreat Workshop, and started learning how to polish and market my stories. I eventually found my agent, Grace Morgan, through contacts I had made at the workshop, and in the summer of 2001 Grace sold CHARMING THE HIGHLANDER to Maggie Crawford at Pocket Books.

As for "the call," I was sitting outside, gazing at the lake where I live here in central Maine, when Grace called to tell me Pocket Books wanted my story, but that they also wanted two more highlander books to go with it! It had been eight and a half years from that cold winter day when I sat down to pen my first story. Since then, it's been a whirlwind ride, with Pocket publishing my first three highlander books just a few months apart in 2003, followed quickly by my first contemporary romantic suspense - THE SEDUCTIVE IMPOSTOR - and a fourth highlander book, TEMPTING THE HIGHLANDER, due out this September. That's five books in only nineteen months! And I still can't stop writing!

Can you share with us your feelings upon seeing your first release, CHARMING THE HIGHLANDER on the store shelves?

Seeing CHARMING THE HIGHLANDER in my local bookstore was quite exciting, and of course I had to pick it up and walk to the counter and purchase it, even though I had copies at home. I didn't tell the salesclerk it was my book; my husband and I just kept the thrill to ourselves. But the true impact of what I had accomplished had come several weeks earlier, when my editor sent me my first copy hot off the press. I danced through the house the minute I pulled that book - with my name on the cover! - out of the box.

There is a unique characteristic about all of your published works so far. They are all set in your home state of Maine, which you portray beautifully by the way. Can you tell us why you like this setting?

My books are set here in Maine because I simply love where I live. We have four distinct seasons and a variety of eco-systems to play in and marvel at, and to me Maine is the epitome of rugged living, strong and interesting people, and a highly visual backdrop for romance. It's heartwarming to hear that my beautiful corner of the world comes out so vividly in my stories.

Speaking of your most recent release THE SEDUCTIVE IMPOSTER for a minute. This book was a bit different for you in that it didn't have the time travel element in the story line. I loved Rachel and Keenan's story and was wondering if there will be more stories featuring characters from this book? I saw several possibilities for books with the secondary cast. Would you give us a brief teaser of the story line in this one as well? Was there something in particular that gave you the idea for this book?

THE SEDUCTIVE IMPOSTOR was a fun story to write, despite its tragic back-story. I was able to work with passionate characters who allowed me to explore not only the Maine coast, but family dynamics. For me, the story first germinated on a day-trip to Acadia National Park here in Maine, when I stepped onto a bluff and saw a beautiful mansion tucked up against the rugged granite coastline. That was all it took for my imagination to conjure up Rachel Foster, an architect who had helped her father design and build a mansion that I decided to call Sub Rosa. In writing THE SEDUCTIVE IMPOSTOR, I began exploring not only the mystery surrounding Sub Rosa, but the notion of how two sisters, both having lived through the tragedy of their parents' deaths three years earlier, could come away with such different lessons about passion and love and emotional survival.

Your first three books were time travels featuring Highlanders who are in modern day Maine and their quest to find love whether they realize they want to or not. CHARMING THE HIGHLANDER, LOVING THE HIGHLANDER and WEDDING THE HIGHLANDER were all remarkable books. You really captured the reader and transported them into your stories…well this reader anyway. Can you share with us how you came up with the idea for these stories? Was a series your original plan or did Morgan MacKeage and Michael MacBain have to convince you to tell their stories?

Actually, it was Maggie Crawford at Pocket Books who convinced me that all the highlander men wanted their stories told. When I wrote CHARMING THE HIGHLANDER, it was just one book, with only Greylen MacKeage standing out so large in my mind. But Morgan and Callum and Ian MacKeage soon began to emerge as heroes in their own right. And Michael? Ahh … I fell in love with Michael MacBain the moment he stepped into Grace Sutter's kitchen looking for the woman he loved, only to find Mary Sutter's ashes sitting on the table in an Oreo cookie tin. Along with my readers, my own heart stopped beating when Michael first picked up his son (not even knowing Baby was his) and fed him his midnight bottle.

As for where my ideas come from? Well, that is as strange a happening as that switch that turned on in my head that told me to write. I honestly don't know where my ideas come from. They seem to start with a surprisingly simple notion that makes me want to explore some aspect of human nature. The characters themselves suddenly appear in my mind - unbidden but definitely persistent - and I sometimes spend months just getting to know them. It is only after they become as real to me as actual people, that they start telling me their stories - which I then sit down and tell you. Lord, do I hope that switch never turns off!

Your new release, TEMPTING THE HIGHLANDER, is out this month. I look forward to reading it however I have been able to find out very little about this book. Could you tell us a little about the story line please?

You know that little baby in CHARMING THE HIGHLANDER, who was eight years old in WEDDING THE HIGHLANDER? Well, he has grown into quite a remarkable man. TEMPTING THE HIGHLANDER is Robbie MacBain's story. He's thirty now, he owns a logging operation in Pine Creek, and he's a foster parent to four troubled teenage boys. He is also the ordain Guardian of the MacKeage and MacBain clans - both of which have grown exponentially into a third generation by now. Robbie's plate is full and he's in desperate need of a housekeeper. Added to that, someone is stealing eggs from his henhouse. And even more disconcerting is Pendaar's news. Remember that pesky wizard responsible for the highlanders being brought here through time? Well, Pendaar informs Robbie that if he doesn't get a new book of spells - which just happens to be in medieval Scotland - the five original highlanders will be sent back to their old time in less than three months!

Can Robbie catch his egg thief, keep his boys on the right path to manhood, and save his family from such a heart-wrenching fate? What I found in writing this book is that sometimes even heroes need help. And what better help can a man have than a strong and brave soul mate? Catherine Daniels is used to surviving against seemingly insurmountable odds, but to win her help, Robbie finds that he must also win her heart. Which might be hard, considering Catherine's history with the opposite sex.

Janet how does your family feel about your writing? Do they read your books?

(I'm snickering here.) No, my husband and sons do not read my books. My husband can't sit still long enough to read them, and my sons are afraid they'll be scarred for life if they read a romance penned by their mother. Moms, they told me, should not know anything about that kind of stuff. They even cringe when their girlfriends pick up my books, and cover their ears when those girls try to read passages out loud to them. Hey, they're guys. What do they know of romance? My only goal in raising sons was that they have some sense of civility, and that they know how to do their own laundry and feed themselves. I think I've managed that quite well. Now it's up to their future wives to teach them about romance. (Although I must say they did have a good example in their father.)

As a writer what do you feel is your greatest strength and your greatest weakness?

For strength, I'm going to pick up on what you've already mentioned in your questions. I do think I portray strong characters set within a highly visual time and place. To me my characters are real people, and I'm finding they have become just as real for my readers.

As for my greatest weakness, it seems I have a tendency to become totally consumed by my writing, often losing track of time and getting so involved in my stories that I neglect everything else. If it weren't for my husband dragging me out of my studio once in a while, I could easily forget the real world even exists.

We all like and hate things about our jobs. What is your favorite thing about being a writer and what is your least favorite thing? Is there anything about the job that has come as a complete surprise to you?

I'll begin with your last question. I was truly surprised by the responses I've gotten from readers. My books are simply stories I have in my head, written first to satisfy something inside me that needs to be explored. That readers from all over the world and from all walks of life find them engaging, and write me with their comments and encouragement, is wonderfully heartwarming.

What I like most about this job is that it doesn't feel like a job. Who is it that said if work is your passion, you're not really working at all? That's what I'm doing; I'm following my passion, and when I wake up at three in the morning already writing in my head, and I throw on some clothes and rush to my studio, well, I don't think life can get any better than that.

And my least favorite thing? Not getting to talk to more of my readers. When entertainers get up on stage before an audience, they can feel an immediate response. I write my books, send them out there, and wait for feedback, wondering if they saw in my characters what I saw. I cope with the waiting by moving on to my next cast of characters and story.

What is the best way for your readers to get in touch with you?

Readers can find me through my web page at: janetchapman.com. And now that I've taken care of all those pesky cyber demons that froze my internet computer, I hope to get in touch with each reader who writes me. As I've already told you, hearing from readers that my stories touch them is the greatest thing of all.

What do you have in store for readers in the coming months? Can you share with us anything about your current projects?

Oh, lots great things have been happening for me with Pocket Books. In May of 2005, the sequel to THE SEDUCTIVE IMPOSTOR is coming out. THE DANGEROUS PROTECTOR is Willow Foster's story, and it promises to be just as intriguing and adventurous as Rachel's story. Then in October 0f 2005, a fifth highlander book arrives in the stores, telling Winter MacKeage's story. (Winter is, after all, the whole reason this entire series began, when Pendaar was concocting spells to get Winter as his heir.)

I did think Winter's book would be the last highlander, but Pocket has asked for yet another one. That's down the road a bit, though. In the meantime, I'll be introducing readers to another wonderful family that lives on the other side of Pine Lake in the mountains of Maine. Their stories will be contemporary, and just as fun and heartwarming. And somewhere in there will be another romantic suspense, its setting as yet not quite clear in my mind - except that it will also be in Maine.

Do you have any advice for those would be writers out there? Were you given any outstanding advice when you were still trying to make your first sale and if so by whom and what was the advice?

My advice would be to write, write, write. Go to conferences and workshops and learn the fine nuances of writing. Learn about scenes and plotting and characterization, but then ignore all that and sit down and just write your story. Then go back and make sure that what you've learned has been applied to your book. I have found that writers get so wrapped up in the technical side of the craft; they often do so at the expense of the story. Your characters have to be real to you first, if you ever hope for them to be real to your readers.

I've had many wonderful mentors and support from great friends over the years. One of the better pieces of advice I was given came from Joan Johnston, after I had attended my first Romance Writer's of America conference and we shared a cab to the airport upon leaving the conference. I was quite new to writing at the time, and I had met a lot of women who had been writing for years and years and weren't published. Let's just say that I was rather discouraged by the seemingly insurmountable odds of getting published. Joan told me that just by the simple fact that I'd finished a book, much less a couple, I was already in the top ten percent of writers. She told me not to give up without even trying, that if writing was my passion then I must take the risk of trying to do something with it. That was in the summer of 1994, six months after I'd first started writing, and I went home (I could have flown without benefit of the plane, Joan had me so pumped), sat back down at my computer, and kept writing until I had filled my closet. Several years later, when I finally felt I had something good enough to submit, I started trying to market my work.

My lesson? You can't sell something that doesn't exist. You have to invest months, maybe years of work in a manuscript (or several manuscripts) before you can call yourself a writer. Finish your book. And when you have done that, sit down and start telling another story. Keep learning. Keep reading. And keep writing! And when you are finally satisfied with your story, market it with the same tenacity.

Is there any type of writing you would like to try that you haven't yet?

Yes and no. I am very happy penning romances; I love the genre. And I am very blessed in being able to publish both paranormal and contemporary stories. But as for the yes, I would like to delve even deeper into the finer nuances of everyday life, family dynamics, and social issues. I find that of the authors I truly love to read (almost all of them romance authors), the stories that touch me the most are stories that are rich in these traits while still traveling in entertaining and fun vehicles. I don't think powerful stories have to be sad or heart-wrenching; their goal is to be empowering. I feel that hard subjects are sometimes best approached with a subtle sense of humor, a social empathy, and hope.

Since many of your stories feature time-travel, if time travel were possible would you go back in time or forward to the future? What time period would you most like to visit and why?

What I discovered in writing CHARMING THE HIGHLANDER, where my heroine was a rocket-scientist, is that there is no reason to believe (or scientific proof) that time-travel isn't possible. Where would I go? Everywhere! Back … all the way back to Neanderthal time if I could. I'd love to see the earth before we humans got our hands on it. I'd also love to go forward, just to see what cool techno-gadgets get invented. And I wouldn't mind stopping into Scotland around 1200 A.D., just to flirt with a few highland warriors.

Janet thank you for taking the time to chat with me. I wish you much luck and success and look forward to many more exciting stories from you in the coming years.

Thank you, Barb, for your and your readers' interest in my stories. Your questions were most intriguing; they made me think long and hard, I must say, and you got me to step out of my story-world long enough to remember that ultimately, what I write is read and enjoyed by many.

And thank you for inviting me to share a bit of myself with your readers at A Romance Review.

Until later … keep reading!

Janet