Author Q&A
Q: The main character in your book I Can See You is involved in a virtual reality game called Shadowland. Can you tell us more about the game and the research you did to capture it?
A: Shadowland is a fictitious virtual reality game, played online. But it's based on several actual online, role-play games so the technology exists. In Shadowland, gamers establish avatars, or virtual characters. These avatars can look like anything the gamer chooses – male, female, tall, short, sexy. Gamers can buy and sell goods in shops, real estate, own homes, visit bars, gamble in casinos, etc. They can work jobs, flirt, date, marry. They can basically live a fantasy life within the game.
Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
A: I first realized I enjoyed writing in my late 20's. I wrote as a hobby, to keep myself company while traveling for business all over the world. I didn't consider being a "professional" writer at the time. It was all for fun and nobody read my work. This went on for five years or so, until my husband urged me to "do something" with my books. After a lot of fear and angst, I submitted my work, joined a writers' group and met "professional" writers. It was then I thought, "Yeah, I can do this." I got serious about writing and learning the business of publishing. It was about two years after that, that I sold my first book, Don't Tell.
I Can See You brings back Eve Wilson. What made you want to return to Eve? When I began thinking about the virtual world, game addictions, and the lure of online anonymity, I immediately thought of Eve Wilson. A victim of assault in Don't Tell, she was left for dead. She survived, but was scarred, inside and out. By my fourth book, Nothing to Fear, Eve had retreated into the virtual world, interacting with people she met online and even earning her college degree online. I thought that if any of my characters would understand the lure of the virtual world, it was Eve. Besides, evil villains had been so treated her so badly, but she still persevered. She deserved a happy ending of her own!
Q: What's your idea of the perfect summer day?
A: I live in Florida, so every day is a summer day! My idea of a perfect day is spending it with my family. Usually we just sit around and watch cartoons, but we enjoy that. When I'm spending an "alone" day, I go to the beach with a bag of books and a cooler of diet soda. If there is a source of margaritas nearby, that works too!