And our Sue's Clues Mystery Author is:

Our Mystery Author this round is Stacey Kayne. She's new to the shelves and a refreshing voice with stories of western romance, both historical and contemporary. You'll see from the interview below that she is a very busy lady these days, but was able to take some time out and share a little about herself. When you are done, pop over to her website: staceykayne.com

1. Tell us about your family. You are married to your high school sweetheart and have two sons. What to they think about their wife/mom being a romance novelist?

My family is ecstatic. The whole "writer" thing came as a bit of a shock to my hubby—as it did to me *lol*. About six years ago... six months after owning my first computer and having written a book and a half, I announced, "I think I'm a writer!". Hubby went through the whole, "But… what do I tell my friends?" phase *g*. After five years of watching me work, strive and stress, he's very proud of the fact that his wife is a historical western romance author. My boys... they just wanted to know if this meant they could now get high-speed internet :)

2. Have you always lived near the Sierra Nevada Mountains? Sounds idyllic... I've always wanted to visit that area.

I was born and raised at the base of the Sierras. I grew up mostly in the country which was fantastic—lots of room to wander, explore and daydream. I spent many summers and a few winters camping in the mountains. As a kid, I thought I'd grow up and become a forest ranger, but instead, those daydreams became romance novels—which will hopefully find their way to bookshelves some day. My family and I love to trek through Yosemite valley, which never fails to inspire.

3. I had to laugh when I read this comment at your website: (Okay, so the hero isn't supposed to be ten years old for the first hundred pages of a romance novel—who knew?) But I also had to wonder how hard is it to pare away all of what you want a reader to know about a character?

At 800 pages strong, MOUNTAIN SPIRITS had plenty to “pare down”. And through that long, painful process, I learned that we don’t have to walk through a character’s childhood to understand the circumstances that helped to shape the adult they’ve become. I began to weave in important tid-bits and events that were character building milestones through splashes of internal thought and dialogue.

As I worked through the story, it became clear to me that a secondary character in MOUNTAIN SPIRITS kept stealing the spotlight from my intended hero. While trying to sharpen my paring knife, I decided to give Jed his own book, and started BRIDE OF SHADOW CANYON (originally titled Mountain Shadows), which I finished before I'd managed to finish whittling my "trainer" manuscript. Lumpy as MOUNTAIN SPIRITS is, I still love the characters, but certain snags ran too deep and I decided it was time to cut bait and move on. Fortunately, readers still get to meet the characters from that first manuscript in BRIDE OF SHADOW CANYON, so in a way, they made it to publication. From then on, I spent more time developing characters in my mind—daydreaming—before I bring their story to the page.

4. How exciting that your writing has taken off in such a positive way! How does it feel?

Fantastic, terrifying, exhausting, and a whole lot of fun. Having four books sold and due within a ten month period has been busy, fun and totally crazy.

5. How has life changed for you now that you are a published author?

I have a paying job—that's the biggest and BEST change. Other than that, I still write from sun-up to sun-down, and into the wee morning hours. A few months ago I was chasing a book deal… now I’m chasing deadlines. I've always worked on multiple manuscripts at one time, flipping back and forth as ideas strike me. With deadlines looming, it's forced me to narrow my focus to one book at a time. It's been a huge challenge for my short attention span, though I still cheat now and then.

6. Your writing is already venturing into different sub-genres: historical western, contemporary western, and a "non-cowboy adventure". Do you find one easier to write over the other? What other daydreams are brewing into stories for the readers out there?

MUSTANG WILD (March release) and BRIDE OF SHADOW CANYON (April release) are the first books of two different series. The second book in each series will be out at the end of this year, and the third “Wild” book in 2008. While I have a new western trilogy in mind for 2008 and don’t plan to run out of wild west ideas, I also write light romantic suspense and have been working a story revolving around a hunky hit man (a touch of noir with a good dose of humor). Though production has been stalled due to my western sells, I will be marketing those manuscripts over the next year….and hopefully the craziness will continue.

7. What do you like to do when you are not writing? Any hobbies?

Uhm.....when I'm not writing? I don't understand :) I used to enjoy painting, sewing and running a skill saw—before I started writing my mom and I used to peddle our crafty creations at craft shows—wood work, toll painting and such. These days writing takes up all the time in between being a mom. I'm not sure if keeping up with active teenage sons is a hobby, but it can sure be a blast, and is where I like to be when I'm not staring at the computer screen.

8. Most authors are readers. Who do you like to read or what type of books catch your interest?

I came to romance in a backward fashion—when I realized I was trying to write a “love story”, I called up my mom and said, “Hey, can you bring me a box of those books you read?” I tend to be rather obssessive compulsive, and read about 100 books that month—she had a GREAT box of books. I have a keeper shelf full of Garwood, Lowell, Spencer, Miller… just finished a wonderful western by Cheryl St. John. I love to read rich historical westerns, of course, and also enjoy romance with some edge to it. I’m currently reading romantic suspense by Kathleen Long, Elizabeth Lowell and Roxanne St. Claire.

9. What advice do you have for the rest of the daydreamers out there?

Get involved—join readers groups or writers groups. The best way to enjoy your dreams is to share them with others :)