If you’re not a writer, you might think the writing life is glamorous and exciting and en”riching” (as in making a lot of money). Ha! I know we’ve done round table discussions about what writing is really like, but I thought I’d entertain you with some real-life perceptions and questions that I’ve encountered in the fifteen plus years that I’ve been writing seriously. Let’s start with some real-life questions and my often-snappy answers to them:

1) “How do you research your sex scenes?” (You wouldn’t believe how often I get this one!). Duh. Let’s see . . . Answer No. 1)”How do you think a mystery writer researches the murders they write about?” (I answered this to a newspaper reporter and it was one of the tag lines for the article), or: Answer No. 2) “When in doubt, I refer back to my health book from sixth grade.”

2) “Did your husband pose for your book cover?”  Answer: “Yes, he did as a matter of fact. That’s him before the accident.” Snort. (Note: This is no reflection on my husband, who’s very nice looking.)

3) “The guy on your book cover really looks like your editor (Chris Keeslar at the time). Did he pose for the cover?” Answer: See above. (Note: Chris is really cute, so this answer is also no reflection on him.)

4) “Are you going to quit your job now that you’ve got this big book deal?” First answer: “Uh, how much do you think I got?”  Reply: “$100,000?” My next answer: hysterical laughter. Trust me—most beginning advances are much closer to the $1,000 end of that question!

5) “Are you the heroine in your books?”  A: “I wish!” (And I mean that sincerely)

6) “Are your characters based on real-life people?”  A: “Usually only those people I really don’t like and I kill off those characters.”

There are more—many more interesting questions. The truth of the matter is that writing is hard work, and often the financial compensation isn’t all that much. So why do we do it? Now that’s a really good question! I write because the characters won’t stay out of my head and because if I didn’t write, what else would I do? I also write for the immense satisfaction of seeing a completed manuscript, and because I have a legal and binding contract that says I’d better produce said manuscript.

And finally, I write for the readers, for those people who tell me how much my stories entertained, inspired, uplifted, and helped them forget their worries for a while. It means so much to hear from readers, and know that they appreciate my efforts. I’m sure all the Berkley Babes will agree with me when I say we write for *you*.

Here’s to many wonderful books to read in 2007!

~ Catherine