On Writing and Reading…

What do you love most about being a writer?

The freedom to choose my own hours. The fun of keeping eyes and ears open for new ideas.

What do you like least about being a writer?

Finding one of my titles in a secondhand bookstore!

Do you have a favourite locale or setting for your novels? What is it and why is it your favourite?

I love to write about the outdoors, no matter where it's located: about a place that's captured my imagination and that I wish to re-create for the reader's pleasure.

Which of the books you have written is your favourite?

Honeymoon for Three.

What is your favorite recent Mills & Boon, Silhouette, or MIRA title by another author?

I always watch for Emma Darcy's titles, for the energy of her writing and her interesting and inventive plots.

What are your five all-time favourite books?

• The Greenlanders by Jane Smiley
• Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban
• Beloved by Toni Morrison
• Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez
• Odes to Common Things by Pablo Neruda

On Romance...

Describe the ultimate romantic meal.

Breakfast in bed. It should include whipped cream, fresh strawberries, and champagne (forget the coffee!).

What is your all-time favourite romantic movie?

Truly, Madly, Deeply.

What is your all-time favourite romantic song or composition?

Celeste Aida by Verdi... Anyone who can sing that to me, I'm his!

What is the most romantic gesture or gift you have received?

Discovering, when I went to the basement to put the nappies in the washing machine, a vase of pink sweetheart roses sitting on the dryer.

How do you keep the romance alive in your relationship?

That's confidential info.

Where is the most romantic place you've ever travelled?

Northern Ellesmere Island: a flock of ivory gulls, white against the drift ice, and a turquoise sea; drifts of willow herb covered with magenta flowers at latitude 80 degrees.

All About me

Besides writing, what other talent would you most like to have?

The ability to play the cello. I'm not sure I have a good enough ear to even tune it!

Who is someone you admire and why?

All the medical personnel of Doctors without Borders, because they put their lives and livelihood at risk to help those in war-torn and poverty-stricken countries.

Do you have a good luck charm or superstition?

No.

Share one of your favourite indulgences with us.

Brownies with French vanilla ice cream and hot fudge sauce. Pecans on top are a bonus.

What quality do you most admire in a man?

The ability to listen.

What is the one thing you've always wanted to do, but never had the courage to try?

To backpack across Baffin Island in Auyuittuq National Park.

If you weren't a writer, what would you be?

A landscape designer and horticulturalist.

What quote or personal saying do you live by? Who said it?

"The dangers of life are infinite, and among them is safety." Goethe