Lilly Kinman

Lilly - Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Carol - I'm a workers' compensation insurance defense attorney by day, author by night. In pursuit of serious writing, I joined Romance Writers of America and Florida Romance Writers in 1992. In 1996, I won my first prestigious award, the Maggie, for a contemporary Arthurian legend book.

Bitten at a young age by the community involvement bug, I served as president of FRW and on numerous committees for RWA. I was RWA's 2001 Bylaws chairperson and was thrilled and honored to receive the 2001 RWA Service Award.

My six basic soul food groups are romances, country music, movies, photography, travel and a good cup of tea. Into my nonexistent spare time, I cram travel with my trusty 35 mm camera in one hand and tea bags in the other. I currently live in South Florida with two cats that condescended to adopt me as their owner, and one cranky cockatiel.

LK - Why did you decide to write romance books?

CS - For me, the die was cast at age eleven when my mother handed me my first Mary Stewart book and introduced me to gothic romances. However, it was the movie "Star Wars" that crystallized my dream to be a storyteller of novel length fiction. When my mother fell ill from diabetes in 1992, I penned a short romantic novella for her Christmas present, and then went on to write two more "romances-in-training" before NORA'S PRIDE, which is dedicated to my mother who passed away in May 2000.

LK - Who are some of your favorite writers?

CS - There are so very many! My bookcases overflow with books and my TBR pile towers. However, I do haunt the bookstores for any new releases by Nora Roberts, Jayne Ann Krentz, Julie Garwood, Linda Howard, or Kay Hooper.

LK - How hard was it to get your first book published?

CS - It took approximately two years and two editor rejections-but-invitation-to-revise-and-resubmit letters. The process began in 1999 when NORA'S PRIDE won both the Golden Chance and Emily awards, the latter with Silhouette's request for me to submit the entire manuscript. I ended up scrapping two-third's of the original manuscript because in response to one revision letter, I moved what was the original black moment to the first turning point. But the blood, sweat and tears were worth the effort for at 3:00 p.m. on May 22, 2001, my agent called me with the news that Silhouette Special Edition wanted to buy my book.

LK - How long did it take for your write NORA’S PRIDE?

CS - The first version, 11 months.

LK - Did you base Nora's character on a particular person?

CS - No. I admire strong resilient women, and as the story developed so did Nora McCall.

LK - Do you plan to write full-time in the near future?

CS - Within the next five years, I hope to write full-time with a modified practice of acting as a private mediator in workers' compensation disputes.

LK - Do you have a website, and if so, what is the internet address?

CS - Yes! Silhouette Romance author Roxann Delaney designed it for me, and I'm absolutely thrilled with it. I'll be running contests throughout the month of May to celebrate the debut of my book. The HTML is www.carolstephenson.com.

LK - Are you working on any new books? If so, would you like to give us a sneak peak?

CS - Of course. I'm currently writing the youngest McCall sister's story. What happens when two long time casual friends see each other in a whole new light? When the ever-enterprising Eve McCall loses her job, she turns to her friend Nate Roberts and offers to handle his accounting books and help out at his book store until she can establish her own financial consulting business. When a fire damages both the McCall sisters' pottery store and Nate's bookstore, Eve and Nate have to work together in order to rebuild their businesses. Differences in their styles lead to friction and friction leads to explosive passion between them one snowy night.

Along the way old dreams are shelved while new ones come to life. In sacrificing for each other, Eve and Nate discover that a love enriched with the steadiness of friendship is the greatest treasure of them all.