And our Sue's Clues Mystery Author is:

Our Mystery Author this round is Elaine Levine. A native of Virginia, she is now happily located, and has been for years, in the west. Living there has inspired Elaine in the Westerns that she is now writing for the enjoyment of her readers.

After you have finished reading interview below, stop by Elaine's website to learn more about her and her writing.

http://www.elainelevine.com/

Thank you, Elaine!

1. Are you orignally from Colorado? Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Northern Virginia. When I decided I wanted to write
westerns, I quickly realized how little I, an Eastern girl born and bred, knew about the West. Of course, one trip to Wyoming and I was hooked!.

2. You sound very passionate about Northern Colorado, where you live. What is it about the area that inspires you??

I love the wide open spaces. Out here on the Plains, you can see for miles and miles. There are still long stretches of land unchanged by human habitation—where antelope really do still roam! It's easy to imagine life as it was just a short 150 years ago.

3. Tell us about your family.

I'm very blessed to have a wonderful, supportive family. I've been married for 27 years. My two kids, Aaron and Ryan, are grown. My son married the most wonderful girl in the world, and they now have 2 children. My daughter is serving in the Coast Guard on Lake Erie in Toledo. (BTW, the Coast Guard is a fabulous place for young people to serve their country! The Guard takes care of the kids and gives them challenging work opportunities.) I am so proud of them.

4. What do you like to do when you are not writing?

I have a full-time job as a programmer. I'm also president of my local RWA chapter, Colorado Romance Writers (CRW). So between work, writing, and running CRW, there isn't a lot of playtime for me right now. But when I do manage to sneak some in, it's usually gardening. My husband put in a lovely garden in our backyard. It's the perfect place to wander along the paths, thinking and plotting and listening to my characters.

5. Do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors?

I love reading romances, westerns, metaphysical works... I have lots of favorite authors—too many to list them all here! But a few of them are Catherine Anderson, Joan Johnston, Jack London, Edgar Allen Poe, Kenneth Roberts, Elizabeth Hoyt, Anna Campbell, Louis L'Amour, Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer...and many more!

6. Tell us about your new release, "RACHEL AND THE HIRED GUN".

RACHEL AND THE HIRED GUN is Book 1 in my Men of Defiance series. The first 3 books in the series center around the lives of 3 friends who served in the Civil War together who all end up settling in same frontier town.

In RACHEL AND THE HIRED GUN, the hero, Sager, thinks he's found the perfect means of avenging the brutal slaying of his Shoshone foster family. But Rachel isn't what he expected her to be, and his plans quickly go awry!

7. And about the story you are now working on, "LEAH AND THE AVENGER". This is the third in the Men of Defiance Series—how many books will make up this series?

I have several books planned! The 2nd one, AUDREY AND THE VIRGINIAN, will be available in February 2010. It's the story about Julian McCaid, Sager's friend, and a local Defiance girl.

After that is LEAH AND THE AVENGER. It's about Sager and Julian's 3rd buddy, Jace Gage, a vigilante who's been hired to run the corrupt sheriff and his gang out of town.

After that, still many more books planned! AGNES AND THE TALL STRANGER, LOGAN AND THE OUTLAW, DULCIE AND THE BANDIT... I'm going to have fun with this series for a long while!