Livia - Jenna, you are a new author to the series romance genre and for readers that have not had an opportunity to talk with you, or read anything about you in the trades, tell us a little bit about yourself.

Jenna - Why is this question always the hardest to answer <g>? Let's see. I live in the Dallas, Texas area with my husband of almost 11 years and a myriad of pets. I'm a Louisiana native (which is why my October release, set in a fictitious Louisiana town, is so near and dear to my heart.) My mother is a librarian, so I grew up with a book in my hand. Discovered Rosemary Rogers at a shockingly early age <g> and my, oh my, did Steve and Ginny fuel a young girl's imagination! I've always adored writing and always adored romance. I was convinced the Professor and MaryAnn were soul mates, and I just knew there was more going on between Marsha and Greg Brady than met the eye. <g> I received a degree in Journalism from Louisiana State University, then went into marketing. After reading Judith McNaught's PERFECT in 1994 and falling head over heels for Matt Farrell, I knew it was time to give voice to the stories in my heart, and I've never looked back! My favorite stories feature strong, adventurous women and equally strong, adventurous men. My favorite fairy tale is "Beauty and The Beast."

Livia - Your first release was SMOKE AND MIRRORS (SIM # 1146, April 2002), with the second being WHEN NIGHT FALLS (SIM # 1170, August 2002). Each story has a heroine as the cop rather than the hero. Each hero is either a suspect or the victim. What made you decide to do two "role reversal" stories?

Jenna - Great question! For some reason, I've always gone against the norm. If everyone turns right, I'm determined to turn left. So when it comes to my writing, I always look for ways to take favorite storylines and tweak them, twist them. I adore finding new ways to surprise readers! (I even have a secret baby book coming up in January 2003 where the hero knows the baby is his, but the pregnant heroine doesn't!) Once I heard Jude Deveraux say when plotting a scene she'd think of how the story should unfold, then she'd toss that idea out. Then she'd come up with another angle, and toss it. She'd do that three or four times until she'd forced herself to dig beneath the obvious and find a new approach. That's what I try to do.

I also adore writing strong heroines. Traditionally, in romance, many of the strong roles are given to heroes. Now, don't get me wrong, I also adore strong heroes, but I find it very interesting to put the heroine in a position of authority and let that be an added layer of complication between her and the hero.

In WHEN NIGHT FALLS, I have to admit Liam was a challenge. Because you're right, in many ways he was the victim of the crime, and by no means did I want my hero to come across as a victim. So that was a real bugaboo - how to take a man who is in essence a victim and showcase him as a hero. Fortunately, Liam's deep love for his daughter Emily and his strong sense of decency showed me the way.

My October release, THE COP NEXT DOOR, features more traditional roles - the heroine returns to the small Louisiana town of her birth in search of answers about the night her mother died, while the hero, the town sheriff, is determined to keep the past dead and buried. The twist I've introduced is a man who seeks to protect everyone in his path, but a heroine who has been coddled her entire life and who is dead-set on standing on her own two feet. The sparks between these two were great fun!

Right now I'm working on book 6 in an incredibly exciting continuity Silhouette is launching in 2003. The storyline is about genetic experimentation gone bad in the 1960s and the search for the children who were born as a result of this experimentation. It's a race between the bad guys and the good guys with all sorts of twists and turns along the way. My story is about a man who stands accused of stealing one hundred billion dollars from a huge bank - the bad guys have framed him to take a fall and it's up to his ex-lover, a defense attorney, to prove the feds have the wrong man. As you can see, the plot is right up my alley.

Livia - You have the role of a police detective down pat, particularly those that work undercover. How much research do you do and who or what is your source?

Jenna - Research is definitely this writer's best friend! Until this past year, I've had no close personal contacts in law enforcement, just a proficiency at searching the Internet and a vivid imagination. Recently, my cousin has become a small town police officer and I've met a fabulous detective in the Dallas area. Both of them provide great information.

Also, I've found I really enjoy writing about characters with multiple layers, even secret identities. There's just so much potential for conflict! Undercover detectives lend themselves really well to this kind of situation.

My March 2003 release, THE PERFECT TARGET, features the daughter of an American ambassador who is living under an assumed identity in Europe and an American special forces operative, who is deep undercover trying to infiltrate a dangerous criminal organization. When he's given a final test of loyalty to kidnap her and surrender her to the bad guy, all hell breaks loose. Nothing was quite as it seemed with these two, but this only deepened the mystery and attraction between them.

Livia - How long did it take you to get published? Do you consider the process hard?

Jenna - I started pursuing fiction seriously in 1994 and sold my first manuscript in July 2000, so that's what? Six years!

Becoming published is an amazing journey, a test of endurance and perseverance like few other pursuits can offer. There were dark, dark times when I wanted to quit beating my head against the wall, but I have Cajun blood in my veins and I'm very, very stubborn. So the more obstacles I hit, the more determined I became to improve my skills to the point where the next query would result in a yes.

During my last year or two prior to selling, I was very active on the contest circuit, where I received terrific feedback and encouragement. The contest circuit is also how I came in contact with the editor who eventually purchased my work.

Livia - Jenna, you have at least three books waiting in the wings for release within the next year. What is your writing schedule like?

Jenna - Crazy!!! I work a corporate job, which consumes my 9-5 hours, Monday - Friday. This leaves Saturday and Sunday mornings for the majority of my writing from scratch. I'm a morning person. My brain functions best before noon, so writing in the evenings is out for me. Fortunately, I write fairly quickly and can really take advantage of the time I do have.

Livia - Will future books have female cop heroine or will we see another trend?

Jenna - After WHEN NIGHT FALLS, I have 4 books scheduled, and none of them feature female cops. What they DO feature, however, are strong heroines. That's the trend you'll always see from me. Tough, gutsy, determined women who are trying to carve their place out in the world - whether it's Tori Blake's search for the secrets surrounding her mother's death or Bethany St. Croix's soul-deep desire to have a family, or even Miranda Carrington's need to live a life outside the public spotlight, all my heroines will have the courage to stand on their own two feet and fight for what they believe. And all my heroes will be the kind of man willing to take on the world single-handedly for the sake of the heroine.

Other than that, you can expect to see some pretty different plots from me, romantic suspense to straight romance, romantic adventure, etc.

Livia - Like several other Silhouette Intimate Moments authors your stories are as good or better than some of the contemporary romantic suspense, do you plan to write any longer novels for mainstream publishing any time soon?

Jenna - YOU are too kind! I absolutely adore writing stories about men and women making their way through this crazy thing we call life. Silhouette Intimate Moments allows me tremendous freedom and flexibility to tell the stories in my heart, and they've been wonderful to work with. I have a terrific editor who shares my vision 100%. What does the future hold? Who knows. I learned a long time ago to never say never. I plan to be writing for a long, long time yet, so hopefully I'll have the time and space to experiment as the stories dictate! I'm intrigued by relationships - man and woman, friends, siblings, parent/child, etc. So many stories… so little time.

Livia - Are you affiliated with any writing organizations? As a newly published author yourself what advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Jenna - I joined RWA in 1994 and became affiliated with the Dallas chapter at the same time. Over the years, I was fortunate enough to hook up with several other wonderful ladies who all shared my dream. We nurtured each other, taught, supported, critiqued, held hands, you name it. In the process we became the best friends a girl could want, and we ALL launched publishing careers. I wouldn't trade them for the world and truly, truly owe them everything.

My advice to a new writer? I've written an article about this (posted on my website - http://www.jennamills.com), but will spare you the verbose details. Bottom line - never give up. Always, always hone your skills. No matter how much praise you're getting for your writing, you can always be better. All of us can. This desire to constantly improve is a writer's best friend. Find a good critique group, but realize a really good critique group is so much more than just critiquing. It's the support and the nurturing, the teaching and the sharing, the good times and the bad. Having this kind of support system can make all the difference in the world - I know it did for me!

Thanks you so much for this opportunity to chat and learn more about you and what goes into creating your wonderful romances. Readers please take the opportunity to order a copy of SMOKE AND MIRRORS and WHEN NIGHT FALLS. I can guarantee you will not be disappointed.