One of my favorite all times authors is LaVyrle Spencer. I used to consume her books like creme brulee. And just so you understand, creme brulee makes my stomach fluttery with anticipation. I have to force myself to eat it very slow and precise so that I don’t fall face first into the ramekin and gobble it like a pig.

Whether LaVyrle’s books were contemporary or historical, they were always character driven romance novels. No kidnaping or skulduggery, and after years of reading about heroine’s with rosebud lips and snapping emerald eyes, she was such a breath of fresh air to me. She made it okay for me to write very straight forward, character driven books about normal people living normal lives. People I could relate to.

At my first Romance Writer’s Of America conference (six years before I sold my first book) I got a chance to meet LaVyrle. She was so nice and gracious and she let me, an unpublished nobody, hold her RITA. It was almost as good as if I’d ever got to meet Steven Tyler and got to hold his . . . Grammy

LaVylre inspired me to write honest fiction straight from the heart, and then . . .she just up and announced that she was retiring. What the heck? At first, I didn’t believe her. I thought she’d just take a break and then she’d be back. I mean really, how can a writer retire? Forever? What would she do with all the voices living in her head? You just can’t turn them off. They don’t shut up.

It’s been ten years, and she’s still MIA. So I guess she really did retire for good, but I’m still holding out hope for a LaVyrle come back. I miss her honest writing and the vivid pictures her words painted for my consumption.

How many of your favorite writers have retired or are simply MIA?

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