Hi Sabrina! Thank you so much for doing this interview with me. I have enjoyed your books for a very long time, and have looked forward, to finally being able to sit and talk with you. Let's get started and have some fun! ARR. After reading your biography, on your website, I was fascinated to learn that you grew up in Thailand, where your parents were missionaries. How has that experience helped you in the writing of your books?

Sabrina. It opened my mind to different cultures, which always helps any writer. Also, because my family and I were isolated in the country and I had no other English-speaking kids to play with (my Thai friends spoke little English while I spoke little Thai), I spent a lot more time reading than I might have normally. I'd always been an avid reader, but out in the country, I spent hours and hours reading and making up stories. So I think being out there alone really helped spark my creative bent. I made up stories all the time. There wasn't much else to do. *G*

ARR. How old were you when you decided that writing was going to be your life's passion?

Sabrina. Believe it or not, when I was twelve I told myself that when I grew up, I would write down my romantic fantasies and sell them to people. Apparently, I had an unrealized prophetic tendency. *G*

ARR. During my research, I found that you write under several different pseudonyms. Could you please tell us the names you use and list the books that you have written?

Sabrina. Phew-it's a lot:

Historical Romances I've written as Deborah Martin:
MOONLIGHT ENCHANTMENT, Leisure, February 1992
CREOLE NIGHTS, Leisure, December 1992
BY LOVE UNVEILED, Topaz, May 1993
SILVER DECEPTIONS, Topaz, January 1994
DANGEROUS ANGEL, Topaz, September 1994
STORMSWEPT, Topaz, September 1995
"Too Wicked for Heaven," novella in collection ONE NIGHT WITH A Rogue, St. Martin's Press, October 1995
WINDSWEPT, Topaz, April 1996
"Out of the Night," novella in a collection entitled DANCE WITH THE DEVIL, St. Martin's Press, October 1997
CREOLE BRIDE, Topaz, December 1997


Contemporary Romantic Suspense Novels I've written as Deborah Nicholas:
NIGHT VISION, Dell, April 1993
SILENT SONATA, Dell, May 1994
SHATTERED REFLECTIONS, Zebra, June 1996

ARR. Each author has her own devices to creating her characters. Your heroes are strong, independent, and stubborn men. Your heroines are full of grit and just as stubborn as the men you pair them with. How do you go about in the development of your characters?

Sabrina. I just write characters whom I would like to get to know myself. I don't like wimpy heroines and I find alpha men sexy, so that's the sort of characters I write. I start out with a broad idea of the character based on how I first envisioned him or her in relation to the plot idea. Then as I write the book, I learn more about them. Of course, every time I learn more, I have to revise what I've written to reflect my new awareness of the characters. So until I get to know my characters well, I revise a LOT.

ARR. You write some of the best love scenes of any author that I have read. Is it hard to keep these love scenes fresh and hot book after book?

Sabrina. Yes. Fortunately, I've always had an active fantasy life where sex is concerned, and I haven't even come NEAR to touching on all my fantasies. *VBG*

ARR. While writing the "Lord" series, was it difficult keeping the characters straight in your mind and not mix up any details?

Sabrina. Yes, which is why I keep two charts. One details everything about all the significant characters in the books and the other is a timeline, so I can be sure I don't mess the ages and events up from book to book. When I've finished the five books that the Swanlea Spinster Trilogy is turning into (the last three of which are loosely connected to the Lord Trilogy-it comes after the Swanlea Spinster Trilogy in time), I plan to put my timeline up on my website.

ARR. Out of all of your male and female characters, which one is your favorite? Which was the hardest to write?

Sabrina. My favorite male character at the moment is one nobody has seen yet-the REAL Morgan Pryce, Sebastian's twin brother. His book will be out next April. The hardest to write has to be Daniel. I had to walk a thin line between easy-going and wimpy without changing his character from the previous book. I also had to make him appealing in spite of his previous history of non-stop wenching.

My favorite female character is Rosalind, and probably always will be, because she is pretty much as close to me as any character has ever been. But I do try not to take it personally when some readers say they don't like her. The hardest heroine to write was probably Helena. I wanted her to struggle with her disability, but I didn't want it to be so important that the reader got tired of seeing her feel sorry for herself.

ARR. Which of your books was the most challenging to write? Why?

Sabrina. As you can see from the above, A Notorious Love was a VERY hard book to write, probably my most challenging. And not only because of the characters, but because the plot was complicated.

ARR. Writing a book is a very lengthy and involved process, as I am now finding out. From the first concept of a story to the actual printing of the book, about how long does it take?

Sabrina. The shortest time I've ever written a book in is 4 and a half months (Night Vision). The longest is about 9 months, but I always aim for 6.

ARR. Do you find that the more books that you write, the longer it takes to actually write them?

Sabrina. I find that the more books I write, the more WORK I have to put into them. So while it doesn't take any longer, it takes up much more time and energy during the day, if that makes any sense.

ARR. Do you have any favorite resource materials that you use when researching for a new storyline or characters? Are there any websites that are also helpful? I ask this question, for those of us who are always scrambling to find information for our own writing.

Sabrina. Yes, I use a wide variety of sources. As far as websites go, check out my page for writers at http://www.sabrinajeffries.com/pages/sabrinasuggests/writarticles/forwriters.htm, which gives links to my favorites. And DEFINITELY check out http://www.jaclynreding.com/links/, which has what I'm sure is the largest collection of links useful to romance writers on the web. She has publishers, research sites, author sites, writing how-to sites . . . you name it, she's got it. I go there all the time.

For written sources, my favorites include:
DOMESTIC TECHNOLOGY--A Chronology of Developments, by Nell Du Vall--lists when every innovation and invention first occurred.

SLANG AND EUPHEMISM Richard A. Spears A Dictionary of Oaths, Curses, Insults, Sexual Slang and Metaphor, Racial Slurs, Drug Talk, Homosexual Lingo and Related Matters ISBN 0-8246-0273-0

THE CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE, University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0-226-10390-0

THE HISTORY OF UNDERCLOTHES by C. Willet and Phillis Cunnington

WHAT JANE AUSTEN ATE AND CHARLES DICKENS KNEW: From Fox Hunting to Whist -- the Facts of Daily Life in 19th Century England by Daniel Pool

THE WRITERS GUIDE TO LIFE IN REGENCY AND VICTORIAN ENGLAND: From 1811-1901 by Kristine Hughes

ENGLISH WOMEN'S CLOTHING IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY by C. Willet Cunnington.

THE REGENCY COMPANION, by Sharon H. Laudermilk, Teresa L. Hamlin,

ARR. What is your typical writing-day like?

Sabrina. Typical? Is there such a thing? My life and personality unfortunately don't lend themselves to a normal schedule. For the most part, I write all the time, with large interruptions for housework, leisure, sleep, meals, and family interaction. I'm serious. I set myself a page limit for the day, but that's it. I might write 5 pages in the afternoon or 3 pages in the morning and 3 at midnight or 10 pages after 6 p.m. That's my typical day.

My IDEAL writing-day is to get up, walk at the gym (while reading a book--I walk on a treadmill), go to a coffee house where I write on my Alphasmart away from all distractions for two or three hours, come home and have lunch, take a nap (I take a 10-15 min. catnap every afternoon), check my e-mail, bathe, write some more, get my son off the bus and prepare him to go off with his caregiver (my son is autistic), write some, cook supper, eat with my husband, maybe watch some tv and spend time with my family once my son is home, write some, go to bed.

It rarely follows that schedule, however. For one thing, my husband's work hours and my son's schedule fluctuate a great deal. So I fit everything in around them as best I can. I'm writing this at 1 a.m.

ARR. When you do find time for some fun, what do you like to do? Do you have any hobbies?

Sabrina. Lots of them. Just don't have time to do any of them. I enjoy making jewelry, gourmet cooking, and reading (of course), but I also like to watch movies and listen to CDs a lot. I'm addicted to freecell, so I have to watch how much I play it. And nothing relaxes me more than a good jigsaw puzzle, believe it or not. My idea of heaven is being able to do nothing but puzzles for a couple of days.

ARR. 'After The Abduction', which will be released in June 2002, is a fantastic story (no surprise there ). Can you tell us what you're currently working on? When will your next book be released?

Sabrina. Glad you liked it! My next book, entitled Dance of Seduction (they changed it from Until the Seduction), will be released in April 2003 and is the REAL Morgan's story, as I mentioned above. Right now I'm starting a book about a character who appears in Dance of Seduction. Then I plan to launch into a whole new trilogy (finally).

ARR. Ok, here's my last question, I promise. (Although I could go on for another hour asking all kinds of things ). I see that you're very interested in autism. Can you tell us more?

Sabrina. I'm always eager to talk about autism. My 11-year-old son Nicholas is autistic, a fact that has altered every aspect of my life. Aside from the practical considerations (the time and energy it takes to deal with a child who's severely disabled), Nicholas has taught me a great deal about tolerance. I wasn't intolerant before, but I do think I made snap judgments about people. I talk pretty freely on this subject, and sometimes that disturbs people, but I think the one place where Americans in particular could improve is in their acceptance of difference. We tend to try to hide our disabled, to be embarrassed over them, which is foolish. We gear so much of our help for the disabled toward making them as close to "normal" as possible. What we need to realize is that there is no such thing. No one is "normal." We'd do better by looking for the value to be gained from people different from ourselves. I've lived in other cultures, and I find some foreigners much more tolerant of the full range of human behavior. They see it as just another part of the picture that is human life and expression, which is how I see it.

Wow! This has been very interesting, not to say; the least bit informative either. I hope our readers have learned a thing or two about being an author. You have surly given us a lot of things to chew on! Thank you again, for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with me. We at ARR wish you the best of luck in all of your future projects.