Too many to name. I read everything from racy erotica to inspirational romance to dry non-fiction to NYT bestsellers.

I worship at the altar of Jennifer Crusie and love everything she writes, especially WELCOME TO TEMPTATION and FAKING IT. I also adore Janet Evanovich, Lani Diane Rich, and Kristan Higgins.

Outside the romantic comedy genre, I have pretty eclectic tastes. I love Diana Gabaldon's OUTLANDER series, the HUNGER GAMES series by Suzanne Collins, BEAT THE REAPER by Josh Bazell, and everything Barbara Kingsolver has written.

All three of the ones I listed above.

You can find a reason to laugh in almost any situation if you just look hard enough. I said "hard enough." Snicker.

First in a trio of offbeat romantic comedies, MAKING WAVES is a novel hell-bent on flipping the pirate romance cliché on its head. Juli’s lost count of the number of jobs she’s held, but she definitely never applied to be a pirate. Or a stowaway on a pirate ship. But when fate lands her on boat captained by Alex—a man whose unscrupulous boss kicked him to the curb after 20 faithful years—Juli finds herself in the middle of a revenge-fueled Caribbean diamond heist with a crew more suited to the boardroom than the poop deck. Alex didn’t plan to be a pirate, either. He just wants to recover his dignity, pension, and something resembling a normal life. But normal flies out the window when Juli enters the picture—a twist Alex wishes he didn’t find so exhilarating. The two soon discover that while normal is nice, weird can be wonderful.

Er...I write pretty fast (approximately 3 months per book) but I'm not sure how you define "at work on this book." Are we counting submissions? Revisions? Marketing the holy hell out of myself this past year via social media to build a brand and a following?

MAKING WAVES began percolating in my brain in 2006 on an Australian sailing trip when I noticed there was something kinda sexy about a man steering a boat. It took some time (not to mention a job layoff) for the story to truly come together in my mind!

Wine. Lots and lots of wine.