An Interview From Ladybug Farm

The "real" Ladybug Farm

Q .You've written almost one hundred books! In addition to your romance titles as Rebecca Flanders, you’ve written about werewolves and magicians as Donna Boyd, and, most recently, about dogs in the Raine Stockton Mystery Series. How do you keep up with all your different writing personalities?

A . Variety is the spice of life! I think a writer should be able to write about whatever interests her, and never be constrained by the demands of a particular genre. A good book is a good book.

Q. How is A YEAR ON LADYBUG FARM different from your other books?

A. In many ways, it’s not different at all. I write about relationships-- whether it’s the relationship between a man and a woman, a woman her dog, or werewolves and humans. In A YEAR ON LADYBUG FARM three friends come together to restore an old house, and end up building a family, which is the most important relationship of all.

Q. What attracted you most to this concept?

A. I love the fact that the heroines are all over forty-- sassy, vibrant and ready for the best part of their lives. One of my favorite lines from the book is “They had raised families, raised funds, and raised their share of hell. Now they were moving on.”

Q. What inspired the story?

A. The story was inspired by my real-life adventures when I moved from the city to the rural Blue Ridge Mountains and began to restore the 100 year old converted barn in which I now live. This book is the closest to real life I’ve ever written--almost everything that happens to the ladies of Ladybug Farm has happened to me, or to someone I know.

Q. Are you a whiz with power tools, like Cici?

A. I wish! I can use a circular saw but I much prefer my little jig saw, and I’ve never cut a straight line in my life with either one of them. That’s one reason it takes me so long to finish a project--I keep having to do everything over again. There’s nothing like on the job training!

Q. In A YEAR ON LADYBUG FARM, the setting is almost another character in the book, just like it was in the Raine Stockton series. Is that because this book, too, is set in the mountains--even though it is a different mountain range?

A. I do think there are some stories that can be set almost anywhere, but in the books I love most the setting is the story. The old house in A Year on Ladybug Farm takes on a life of its own, as does the little mountain valley in which it’s nestled. I want my readers to feel as though they have lived awhile on Ladybug Farm when they finish reading the book.

Q. What’s next for you?

A. AT HOME ON LADYBUG FARM will be out in October, 2009. In this one we learn more about the history of the farm, solve a mystery or two, and meet some very interesting characters! After that... Well, maybe I’ll wait and surprise you!

A garden from the real Ladybug Farm