The Fallen Man follows an ex-priest who returns to his hometown, where he meets a woman with hidden dark secrets that, if revealed, would shatter lives. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

After my father died following a brief illness in early December 1994, a friend from New York came to visit and we spent several days together in Port Townsend during the Christmas season. The Victorians invented Christmas as we know it, so what better place to spend that holiday than a Victorian seaside village? For those few days, at least, I managed to put aside my grief and get caught up in the magic of the season.

Just about everyone (well, mostly the women) of my generation read The Thorn Birds, which came out in 1977 and was a huge bestseller. When I wrote The Fallen Man, I recalled little about that book except that I wanted a happier ending for Father Ralph and Meggie. A month ago, I finally re-read The Thorn Birds, and it’s still just as great and maddening as I remember. It turns out Edward and Ralph have little in common–other than their good looks, charm, and vocations to the priesthood–and their stories are very different. The Thorn Birds isn’t really a romance, more like women’s fiction/family saga.

I have a relative who converted to Catholicism in his 20s and became the most devout Catholic you can imagine. He very nearly became a priest. The conversion changed him utterly and not for the better. What I learned from him about Catholicism before we became estranged is woven throughout this story. What I didn’t realize when I was writing The Fallen Man was that I was using Edward to re-imagine my relationship with this relative.

Edward and Lisette both have things they wish to forget from their past, which causes them to struggle to move forward with their relationship. What inspired the characters and their relationship?

Edward has come to terms with his own demons when The Fallen Man begins, which is part of why he is so nonjudgmental when it comes to Lisette. While living in New York City in the 80s, I did a lot of caterwaitering for a fancy company called Glorious Foods. I was also a receptionist at the recording studio beneath Studio 54. Those were some wild times. The scandal that Lisette has survived isn’t based on reality, but it was easy enough to imagine something like that happening to a young woman who is too pretty and trusting for her own good. Young people are all too ready to blame themselves when others exploit their youth and naivete.

I have known more than a few women similar to Lisette, women with too many choices and talents to have the kind of focus that makes you truly excel at a profession. All the friends I met in New York and while doing theater and opera were charismatic and talented, but only a few truly “made it” as musicians, actors, or singers because…almost no one does! Not without a lot of luck and a really early start.

Lisette is introduced in Book 2 as, basically, “the woman who tries to seduce Liam at a gastropub in Port Angeles.” At the time I had no future plans for her. Then she showed up in Book 3 (hah, characters just do that sometimes) as Reynard’s girlfriend. And I thought, that’s the woman who will be Edward’s match. Like him, she’s a survivor: strong, no longer young, beautiful, flawed, and a little battered by life. She’s learned to laugh at herself and has long since realized that looks can only get you so far. When she notices Edward admiring her and learns his identity, she doesn’t believe for a moment that he could be serious about her. But Edward, who is ready for a real relationship, sees in Lisette exactly what he’s been waiting for: a mature woman, more capable of love and compassion than she realizes.

My husband and I met seventeen years ago when we were in our 40s, long after I’d given up on meeting my soul mate. Like us, Edward and Lisette discover that “the right one” can help us learn to laugh at the stupid stuff we did and the poor decisions we made before we met them.

What scene in the book did you have the most fun writing?

Much as I loved spending time with Lisette and Edward, I had the most fun writing the scenes involving George Reed Masters, the roguish movie star who seems determined to crash the O’Connells’ ongoing party and hard-won peace of mind.

What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?

I wrote all 5 books of this series before I published Book 1, though I did a lot of rewriting and polishing before I released each one. I hope readers who are discovering the series through Books 4 or 5 will go back and get caught up. No guarantees about when my next book will appear. If I get on a roll, maybe in six months or so. Readers who sign up for my monthly newsletter can not only keep up to date about my next release but also learn what books, movies, and series are currently keeping me captivated.

I have three projects in mind, so I’ll have to see which one catches fire first. The first, unrelated to this series, will take place in Anacortes, Washington, where I currently live. Like Port Townsend, which isn’t far from here by ferry, Anacortes is a Victorian seaside village. Another idea I’ve been mulling over features George Reed Masters and another, Rina Bakersfield, Joe’s former girlfriend in Book 1. At one point I thought I could also do spinoffs starring Kilo and Reynard, but I’m not sure I can redeem them. Some fans of the series weren’t willing to forgive Jake’s shenanigans in Book 1, and Kilo and Reynard behave much more badly in Book 5. Maybe I could give them each a novella and see if they surprise me.

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