On Writing and Reading…

What do you love most about being a writer?

Making my fantasies 'come true' on the page!

What do you like least about being a writer?

Being rejected!

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

I have two great loves - the Mediterranean, and the English countryside. Both, to my mind, are ideal settings for romance.

Which of the books you have written is your favourite?

The one that Mills and Boon accepted for publication! (The Greek Tycoon's Mistress) No, I change my mind - it's my most recent one, The Italian's Token Wife, where a rich, glamorous Italian marries a poor, plain, downtrodden skivvy with an orphaned child. Cinderella meets the Ugly Duckling! (The Italian’s Token Wife will be available in Modern Romance in 2004)

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

I adore Lynne Graham, Michelle Reid, Jacqui Baird and all those who write really strong, passionate stories with heroes you love to hate and love to love! But I also love Mills and Boon's classic authors - especially Charlotte Lamb and Anne Weale, whose books I grew up with, and whose intelligence simply SHINES THROUGH every word they write, as does as their immense storycraft.

As a romance writer, what are your greatest goals?

To write the kind of novels I love to read - the kind I just can't put down! And to affirm, over and over again, the power and triumph of love, the grace by which we live. I truly believe love stories are a force for good in this world.

On Romance...

Describe the ultimate romantic meal.

Champagne in bed!

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

Champagne in bed!!

How do you keep the romance alive in your relationship?

Champagne in bed!!!!

Where is the most romantic place you’ve ever travelled to?

Paris. Corny, but oh so true.

All About Me...

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

Singing. Alas, my friends beg me to stop

Who is someone you admire and why?

All those who survive man's inhumanity to man, or confront the cruelties of fate from illness to disability to bereavement, who lift their heads 'bloodied but unbowed' - all those who keep faith and hope alive for all of us. All who fight against the dark, wherever it threatens. They are all heroes, and testimony to the best in humanity..

Do you have a good luck charm or superstition?

None! (Touch wood )

Share one of your favourite indulgences with us.

Fresh cream Belgian chocolates (but I'm not going to share them with anyone!!)

What quality do you most admire in a man?

Kindness. The greatest virtue of humanity.

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

Get truly fit. I'm just too lazy and greedy (see Belgian chocs above!)

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

An actress! I'd love to play Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing. I adore the way they spar and bicker and love each other to pieces!

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

'Love conquers all' It is stronger than hate, stronger than death.

You can email Julia at the following address: [email protected]