I love to bake. My dad took the Wilton course in cake decorating, and taught me almost all he knew. Everything but the roses. Since everyone's on a diet, I don't get much chance to bake anymore. But I still love to bake, and seriously contemplated a career as a pastry chef. Or a cookbook writer. Sometimes I enter recipe contests, but I haven't won any yet. I love to watch anything dessert-related on the Food Network. I mean, hey, who needs dinner? Let's just skip to dessert!

I'm all over the place, writing-wise. I write sweet romance, YA, Middle Grade, and Mainstream with Romantic Elements, including what is currently a time-travel trilogy set in Scotland, where, alas, I've never been. But someday . . .

Writing short fiction is a great teacher for honing scenes--brevity is, after all, the soul of wit. A short story is a sprint. You can feel the wind in your hair as you run. It's exhilarating.

But I also love the freedom of the open road of a novel. Writing a novel is like driving down the highway and stopping in all the souvenir shops to chat with people, getting to know their stories. Life moves too fast today. I think I should have lived during the 1950's, maybe someplace like Pleasantville.

One of my favorite things to do is go to the Jersey shore, and shop, shop, shop in all the kitschy souvenir stores; pad along the boardwalk; breathe in the sea air; and eat way too much salt-water taffy. Can you imagine a better day than that?

Everyone says I'm a dreamer, but really, doesn't the world need more dreamers?