Carly:  Suburbia.  It's a neighborhood with a lot of families and kids for my kids to play with.  It's sort of the way I grew up and I wanted the same for my children.  We're forty minutes or so from New York City, close enough to go in for fun or avoid the hectic pace altogether.
 

Kristie:   If you could live anywhere that your heart desired, where would that be and why?

Carly:  Always where my family is, my parents, my husband and kids.  That said, I visited Arizona once and I loved the scenery, the weather and everything about it.  But I'd miss the change of seasons.  I think I'm a New Yorker at heart.
 

Kristie:   Before you became a writer, you were a practicing attorney. That is quite a career change going from being a practicing attorney to being a full time writer. Want to share the story behind this career switch with me?  Need I ask which career you most enjoy? LOL

Carly:    Amazingly, I didn't always know I wanted to be a writer. I didn't grow up writing stories. Reading, yes, but writing no.  So I went to college, majored in Politics, went on to law school and graduated.  As a fun side note, I took the Bar Exam and was sworn in with JFK (John F. Kennedy Jr.) the year he passed.  Anyway, I went on to practice and I hated it.  I wasn't cut out for the long hours or the competition or any of it.  Eventually we moved and I wasn't able to easily commute, I had my daughter (first of two) and was lucky to be a stay home mom.  One with a colic baby.  So I started to devour romance novels and I was hooked. I needed the distraction and I loved them.  At some point, I decided to write one, although I can honestly say I never thought I could do it better than the wonderful writers I'd been reading, just that I wanted to try.  After that, writing became a part of me and wanting to sell, an obsession. <g> Obviously there's no comparison as to which career I love best. :).  I can't resist happy endings, which is what Romance is all about.
 

Kristie:   Carly, when I was doing my research on you for this interview, I saw where you said that publishers sometimes request that a writer use a pseudonym instead of their real name. Since ‘Carly Phillips’ isn’t your real name, I would like to know if you selected the name or if your publisher gave it to you.

Carly:  Originally I gave the publisher a list of names, all starting with "Karen" which is my real name.  They didn't think the choices were hip enough, I think that was the word.  But I did want a connection to my "real" life, and my husband's name is Phillip, hence "Carly Phillips."  I guess the answer to your question is a little of both.  We compromised on the final choice.
 

Kristie:  From looking at your list of published books and upcoming books, you seem to have a track record of publishing at least three to four books a year. How in the world do you handle such a busy schedule? Is it difficult to be working on more than one book at a time? How do you keep all the story lines straight when you have more than one book in your head?

Carly:  It's hectic! But first, I don't write more than one book at a time.  I can't.  I'm one of those people that need to give something my undivided attention from start to finish.  I may have to pause in the middle of writing one to do revisions or read galleys on another one, but I write one at a time.  I even avoid trying to brainstorm a new story while I'm working on another one because I get so excited, I want to sit and write it immediately and I'd know I still had to finish the one I was in the middle of first.  So I try to schedule my deadlines with as much breathing room as possible so I don't end up stressed.  I average 25 pages a week, some more, some less.  The crunch inevitably happens, but so far things have always worked out. I don't do stress well. <g>
 

Kristie: Your novels receive rave reviews and, from looking at your guest book at your website, your readers just love your work. Do you find it intimidating trying to follow up on your past successes with each new book that you write?

Carly:   I try not to think of it that way.  What I try to do is put my all into the book I'm writing now.  I can't look back.  The one thing I've learned is that once I start a book, it is what it is.  In other words, some books are easier to write than others but all I can do is give it my best and hope readers see that.  Obviously some books are more favored than others but every person has their own opinion and I just hope to give people who chose my books a fun, enjoyable, HOT read and a guaranteed happy ending.
 

Kristie:  Carly, I know from personal experience as a published author myself, promotion takes up a lot of an author’s time. How do you juggle the promotion time versus your writing time? After all, there are only so many hours in a day.

Carly:   Oh you said that right. I wish there were more hours! Promotion sometimes consumes writing time.  It's almost easier to balance writing and family than writing and promotion because when my family needs me, I can't be writing.  But when I'm in the office or at the computer, I'm often torn. I love promotion and I appreciate the internet so much. I love hearing from readers and talking with them online but I also hope they understand when I drop out of sight for a bit because of a deadline or family emergency because it's just impossible to have enough time for everything.  I wish I could say that I write my page count and only then do I allow myself promotional or fun time.  NOT. <g>  I just focus on my weekly goal of 25 pages a week and work everything else around that.
 

Kristie:  To a writer, their novels are their ‘babies’. Each one is beautiful in its own way; each one holds a special place in the writer’s heart.  From that point of view, I know this may be a difficult question for you to answer but I am going to ask it anyway: Of all the books that you have published to date, which is your favorite and why?

Carly:    Believe it or not, that's easy.  BRAZEN (Temptation/Blaze, June 99) - not because it was my first published book but because it was the book in which I "found" my voice and niche in writing. I would hope that I've grown with every book I write and no two are alike (fingers crossed <g>) but in BRAZEN I found my ability to write hot, write light, and enjoy myself in a whole new way.
 

Kristie:  Your novel, ‘The Bachelor’, released this month, is the first novel in your Warner Book Trilogy with ‘The Playboy’ and ‘The Loner’ to follow. I am just dying to know how you came up with those sexy ‘Chandler Men’ and the story line for this trilogy. Please, Carly, tell all!

Carly:    I wish I could claim all the credit, but a fantastic editor approached my agent with a general concept - a matchmaking mother faking illness so her bachelor sons would give her grandbabies.  I ran with the rest. :)  Roman (THE BACHELOR), Rick (THE PLAYBOY) and Chase (THE LONER) are three close brothers but they're each different and unique in personality and how they find happily ever after.  None of the men thinks they're looking for love, of course.  And their path towards finding it was just so much fun for me to write.
 

Kristie:  I have to ask this one last question, Carly. Did you ever become so discouraged before you sold your first novel that you were tempted to give up on writing and go back to being a practicing attorney?

Carly:   Discouraged? Yes, many, many, many times.  More than I can count.  Tempted to give up? Never.  Tempted to go back to practicing law? Not in this lifetime. <g>  I always like to say this in an interview because I hope it gives unpublished writers hope: I had TEN completed manuscripts before I sold one.  Six years of writing.  Umpteenth rejections and revisions and disappointments before I found an editor who believed in me and even then, it took over two years to sell to her.  So my advice? SUBMIT, SUBMIT, SUBMIT and get your name out there.  If you get a rejection, eat chocolate and move on.  You can't sell a book you haven't written!
 

Kristie:  Thank you so much, Carly, for taking the time out of your very busy schedule to talk with me. I wish you the best of luck in the future. Is there anything that you would like to add?

Carly:    Well I'd love to send people to my website. It's constantly updated with fun tidbits, reviews and excerpts.  Currently you can read THE BACHELOR, but soon enough I'll be posting one for THE PLAYBOY too.  And if you love contests, have I got one for you. <g>  Visit: http://www.carlyphillips.com/ for Get Kissed THE BACHELOR PREVIEW CONTEST!  And if you want a bookmark or other goodies, write me at: P.O. Box 483, Dept. 602, Purchase, NY 10577 and include an SASE.  One stamp will get you a bookmark, two stamps a special THE BACHELOR giveaway, and three stamps an envelope full of Carly Phillips goodies.  And remember, no one can resist a Chandler Man!  THE BACHELOR hits the shelves in July!

Thank you, Kristie. This was a fun interview with a lot of great questions to answer. I'm so happy to visit with you!

Raina Chandler, mother of three bachelor sons – widowed and lonely – who wanted grandchildren above anything else.

Charlotte Bronson, eligible woman in town – beautiful, long black hair down past her shoulders, gorgeous body – with a crush on Roman that went back to high school days.

Roman had no intentions of changing his carefree, globe trotting bachelor ways, even though he did lose the coin toss between the three brothers that designated him the ‘loser’ who had to get married to give his mother her heart’s desire – grandchildren. He intended on finding a woman in Yorkshire Falls who would be content to be left behind, tending to the babies, while he went on about his life – coming home every now and then, when he felt like it.

Charlotte had her chance with Roman back in high school. The chemistry between them was off the Richter scale. But Charlotte carried a lot of baggage around with her. When Roman confided in her that he wanted to pursue a career as a journalist after high school and that his heart’s desire was to travel the world, Charlotte quickly doused her burning feelings for Roman. She didn’t want a man like her father, who came and went in her life just as he pleased, with no thought of how much it hurt to be abandoned.

But old flames burn bright. The chemistry between Roman and Charlotte still blazed high even after all these years.

Carly Phillips takes the reader on a fascinating journey with Roman and Charlotte as they work their way through the muddle of emotions they find themselves in. Carly writes a story that is light, funny – and very hot! You don’t want to miss this first novel in her Warner Trilogy – THE BACHELOR. It will leave you panting for the other two novels in the trilogy – THE PLAYBOY and THE LONER.

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Reviewed by Kristie Leigh Maguire
Author of Emails from the Edge (The Life of an Expatriate Wife) and Desert Triangle
Co-author (with Mark Haeuser) of No Lady and Her Tramp
Contributor to Calliope’s Mousepad: Women Writers Online