You hit an age when you’re too old to have “imaginary friends” so I decided to put them onto paper. From a young girl with blond curly pigtails to an elderly man with sparse white hairs, the fictitious people have all talked to me at one time or another. Who am I to ignore these interesting characters? They each have their own story and I am the lucky one they’ve chosen to tell it to.

I always knew writing was for me. When I hit junior high age, I knew I’d attend Ohio University and study journalism. Oh no, wait! I can’t do journalism. Why not? Because I don’t want people telling me what to write. Now what? By the time I graduated high school I was still unsure, so I went to college for a few years, but something was still missing. During this time I still piddled with short stories, but I just wasn’t happy.

At the age of twenty-three, I opened my own beauty salon. I’d married my high school sweetheart and had a wonderful family, but I felt like there was something else I should be doing. How could something still be missing in my life?

One evening I started reading ‘Irish Thoroughbred’ by Nora Roberts and…AH-HA!! My mind started working overtime. I wanted to create believable characters that readers would fall in love with. I wanted to make other people feel what I did…as if the intriguing people on those pages were my new friends.

So I did it. One night I sat down and started working on a summary of the story in my head. My husband found my notes and asked what it was. I told him, “I’m going to write a book.” I held my breath and waited for him to laugh or blow it off as a pipe dream, instead he looked at me, smiled, and said, “This is good. When can I read more?” Ahhh, my first fan.

Since then I’ve carted my laptop from vacation to vacation, from conference to conference. I can’t stop creating new and exciting people. If I never sold a book in my life, I would still write…the passion runs that deep within me. When my husband makes comments about my nose always being in a book, I just tell him it’s “research”.

My small home in southern Ohio is usually in a state of chaos because I’d much rather create a new story than run the sweeper. My husband, daughter and beagle don’t seem to mind that I’m not domestic…that is until I forget to feed them.

Because writing can sweep me away from my little office to anywhere in the world I want, I welcome it. The laundry and dust bunnies will still be there when I return.

Q&A with Jules

What made you want to write?

I always wrote short stories as a child. I would write about anything. Sometimes I would copy information out of the encyclopedia just to be writing…that’s really sad. But when I read Nora Robert’s “Irish Thoroughbred” I knew I had to write. I wanted to make people feel what I had felt. I wanted them to fall in love with characters I created.

What books do you read when you’re not writing?

I love the new Edge series from Cherry Adair. I’ll read anything from Suzanne Brockmann and Shannon McKenna. I love Lori Foster and Erin McCarthy. I love a good dose of action, sass and romance.

How long does it take you to write a book?

That depends. I write two genres. If I’m working on a romantic suspense, I tend to spit those out quicker. The adrenaline rushes off the pages and into my system and I can’t type fast enough. Naked Vengeance took me a couple of months. If I’m working on a contemporary romance, it takes me longer. I have to do a great deal of research on the topic of choice. For example, right now I’m dealing with a blind girl so I have to put myself in her shoes, so to speak. I’ve interviewed several people in order to grasp their emotional struggle. I’ve been working on this story for about three months, but it’s nearing the end.

Why do you write?

Because the people in my head are bumping into each other and they want out.

What inspires you?

Everything. Although, the main thing that does is country music. Nothing is more heartbreaking or emotional than those lyrics.

What would you do if you weren’t writing?

Talk to myself more than I already do.