AccessRomance interviews author Dianne Castell.

AR: Tell us about your Forty & Fabulous series for Harlequin American.
What was the inspiration?

Dianne: Actually...I was tired of writing about my kids’ sex lives. I have kids in their 20s and know they are not always the brightest bulbs on the tree when it comes to making decisions about relationships. That can be fun and amusing to write about, but I wanted an older read where the hero and heroine knew what they were about. I wanted to write about the problems the forty-year-olds face. Also...a woman reaches her sexual prime in her forties, and that is a lot of fun to explore.

AR: What do you enjoy most about writing for American?

Dianne: The fun stories. I can do humor and not many of the Harlequin/Silhouette lines do that. Most are very emotional reads. That’s good but I need to laugh. Har Am lets us do that.

AR: You're also writing now for Kensington Brava. Tell us about your upcoming projects there.

Dianne: I have the Four O’Fallon and a Baby series...Til There Was U is the first book out in November. RT gave it four stars and said it had the perfect blend of romance, family and mystery.

I love writing the sexy hero and spunky heroine and the baby they all try and care for. That the baby is the hero's father’s who is fifty-two and that they’re all trying to find the mother is a fun twist.

AR: What do you enjoy most about writing for Brava?

Dianne: The freedom. I get to write a more cutting-edge story and use the language, in-your-face situations and sexual encounters that go with it.

AR: Have you found the switch to steamier stories difficult at all?

Dianne: I love it. It’s great to get to write different types of stories. In Brava the sensuality is there in spades, and I enjoy playing to that.

AR: Do you plan to continue writing both Bravas and Americans?

Dianne: I hope so. The variety is exciting. Harlequin American has been good to me, and I’ve got many loyal readers who want more books.

AR: Tell us about yourself. Your hobbies. We understand you enjoy sewing, gardening, and fountains? And that you have a connection to vineyards in Italy?

Dianne: My maiden name is Castelluccio, and my grandfather came over on “the boat” from Italy in 1913 with no money, not speaking any English and he went through Ellis Island. He told us how excited he was to see the Statue of Liberty, and he framed his US citizenship papers and hung them on the living room wall. I can still remember seeing them there.

I want to make the reverse trip and see where Grandpa Angelo came from.

AR: Tell us what you can about your family. We hear your husband is quite the woodworker, and that your children are involved in a variety of challenging careers, studies, and travels?

Dianne: My husband Dave turns bowls...really beautiful wood bowls and candlesticks. Give the man a chunk of wood and wow!

I have four kids, all happily single and of the artsy-fartsy variety.

Ann does my website and RT ads and bookmarks. Emily is in microbiology. You know those side-effects you read about on the labels of drugs? She’s the one who finds out what they are.

My son works for P&G and does product design, and my youngest, Gina, is in Industrial Design at the Univ of Cincy. We all get together every Sunday for dinner. Keeps us close...and I get to find out what they’ve been up to so I can worry and grind my teeth for the next week. That’s what all mothers do, right?