Background on... DANCE WITH THE DRAGON

For DANCE WITH THE DRAGON, I drew upon my observations of not only Washington, D.C., where I often visited relatives, but also of Eastern Europe, where I traveled in August, 1985. My pre-Glasnost trip went to Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia. Like most tourists, I visited Bran Castle, which is touted as “Dracula’s Castle” but where the historical Vlad Dracula spent only a short period, while in captivity. Tourists are taken there chiefly because it is in good repair — Dracula’s real castle, on the Arges river, is in ruins and almost inaccessible. I was more intrigued to see Dracula’s birthplace in Sighisoara, Romania, which at least in 1985 was a perfectly preserved Medieval town. Vlad Dracula was born in the equivalent of a “townhouse” on one of the main streets. There’s a plaque on the building outside, and a bust of him indoors on the first floor.

(For more information check out http://goeasteurope.about.com/cs/romania/a/dracula_castle.htm)

Reading Bram Stoker’s DRACULA all the way through for the first time, during my freshman year in college, strongly influenced my decision to write horror. I don’t think it was the first horror novel I’d read — I know I already was familiar with ROSEMARY’S BABY by Ira Levin — but I’d never thought much about vampires before, and suddenly I found the theme compelling. Over the years, though, I’ve been struck by the fact that most interpretations of DRACULA tend to ignore the character’s military background. Even Stoker presented him not as a romantic figure, but as a formidable leader of men who used clever strategy against his enemies. The wealth of information on the historical Dracula that came to light (ouch!) in the 1970s only reinforced this image of Vlad as a fearless soldier and Machiavellian diplomat. These are the traits I hoped to bring out in my homage, DANCE WITH THE DRAGON.

Background on... RIDE A DANCING HORSE

As a girl, I read every horse book in print, but I never wrote a book on this subject until RIDE A DANCING HORSE. Let me say, right out of the gate, that I do NOT ride at the same level as the main characters in RDH! I have ridden dressage for many years, though, and I was motivated by a desire to do a book involving this sport. I didn’t feel qualified to write about the politics of high-level, competitive dressage, and preferred to concentrate on the everyday breeding and training of horses. The idea of a Spanish-born trainer working with Andalusians added an exotic, glamorous note, and southern California seemed the most likely setting. These details also presented obstacles to overcome, because although Andalusians were the original dressage horses in the royal courts of Europe, and the forerunners of the famous Lipizzaners, today they have been overshadowed by the bigger “warmblood” breeds. So the hero, Diego, would face the challenge of persuading potential customers that his horses could compete successfully in the modern show ring.

Although I’ve ridden off and on (another pun!) most of my life, I only had a horse of my own for a couple of years. Brenda, a chestnut thoroughbred mare, came into my life in the spring of 1999. I knew little about her history, but she’d obviously received some dressage training and had a wonderful temperament for learning more. Unfortunately, she also came with a slight case of “heaves” or COPD — a sort of horse emphysema — which rapidly worsened in spite of my best efforts to maintain her health. After the first year or so, I realized it was cruel to keep trying to ride or show her, and I retired her to a wonderful nonprofit facility, Bright Futures Farm, in Spartansburg, PA. She received the best possible care there, but finally passed away of natural causes, at only 14, in November, 2003. On her healthier days, Brenda was a joy to ride, being intelligent and alert, but also gentle and trustworthy. When I took her into a show ring, I always felt we were a team, on the same side. Brenda also showed an amazing gift for bonding and even empathizing with her fellow horses. If there’s anything to reincarnation, she’s going to come back as one hell of a nice human being! (See a moving tribute to Brenda, by her last caretaker, at http://www.brightfuturesfarm.org/Remembering%20Old%20Friends.htm.)

Background on... BLACK FLOWERS

BLACK FLOWERS grew out of two influences--my many years driving around New Jersey covering visual art for The Star-Ledger, and my love for Ira Levin's novels, especially THE STEPFORD WIVES.

I spent long hours cruising down highways and passing vast, shiny, corporate headquarters with mysterious names that gave not hint of what the companies actually did. Sometimes I'd review art shows in the public galleries of corporate buildings, and the level of security made it clear that these firms took their internal secrets very seriously.

Once in a while I interviewed a woman artist in her home, and was struck by the idea that because she'd married a very successful man she could devote all her time to her artwork. This made me more than a little jealous, because I had to find time and energy for my writing after I'd already put in a full day of work. I'd fantasize about what my life might have been like if I'd married right after college, and my husband had pursued some highly lucrative career.

I think the seed finally took root one afternoon as I was winding up an interview with one such woman--who lived in a lavish, modern house in an expensive, wooded neighborhood--and her husband came home while I was there. I knew he was a corporate bigwig, and I knew he'd used his influence with my editor to get me to do a story on his wife. Perhaps because I was aware of this and resented it a little, he gave me the creeps. I started thinking, "What if a woman who was creative, intelligent and had a well-developed social conscience found out something about her husband's business she couldn't accept? What if she'd been living happily on his high income, and suddenly couldn't bear to do that anymore? What if she felt driven to investigate further, to know the worst, and eventually to try to stop him, no matter what the cost?"

I began to put that together with the idea of those mysterious corporate headquarters I saw along the Jersey highways…and BLACK FLOWERS bloomed!

Background on... PARAGON

Ever notice how many fables and classic stories deal with a homely, strange or downright ugly man winning the love of a beautiful woman? Think of CYRANO DE BERGERAC, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME. And then we have the numerous stories of men who will settle for nothing less than their "ideal woman" shaped to their personal specifications, such as PYGMALION and all of its imitators, right up to the movie PRETTY WOMAN.

Nobody ever deals with the reverse situation--a less-than-attractive woman who wins, or even creates, her ideal man. To balance the scales a bit, I wrote PARAGON.

I also was inspired by a conversation I once overheard, in which a very homely woman fantasized that if she ever went to Hollywood she’d probably "go crazy around all those handsome men." It seemed ridiculous, and yet, if the sexes had been reversed, would we laugh at a nerdy man for daydreaming about gorgeous starlets? No so much.

I’ve always enjoyed theater, dabbled in acting myself and discovered I was no good at it, but I’ve always been fascinated by people who were. I guess I see actors as doing something very similar to what I do, bringing fictional characters to life and really losing themselves in alternate identities.

PARAGON is all about how deceptive appearances can be. The homely characters, including protagonist Lu Bauer and theatrical agent Herb Greenbaum, tap into their deep reserves of passion, loyalty and courage to become truly heroic. Desma, the decrepit-looking "bag lady," possesses powers no one would suspect from her frail, old-country appearance. And actor Eric Troy wears the best disguise of all, for although he looks like a gorgeous but very human hunk, is reality he's…Nah, I’m gonna make you read the book!

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