Access Romance - Interviews

Interviews Index > Colleen Collins (March 05)

AccessRomance interviews author Colleen Collins.

AR: First off, what can you tell us about your newest release, BUILDING A BAD BOY?

Colleen: Well, it's the second time in my writing that I've taken a big, loveable sweetheart of a guy who's a secondary character in one book and transformed him into a hunky hero (the first time it was with Raven, the heroine's best pal in RIGHT CHEST, WRONG NAME--Raven later became the hero in ROUGH AND RUGGED). Similarly, in my first Temptation, JOYRIDE, the heroine had a neighbor (a professional wrestler named The Phantom, a man with the body of The Hulk and the heart of ET) and I brought The Phantom back as the hero in BUILDING A BAD BOY. He's had his heart broken, but he hasn't given up on finding The One. His plan is to stop being a brownie-baking, sitting-by-the-phone good guy and pretend to be what every woman wants---a bad boy. Our heroine, who runs a dating agency, works to help him in this transformation only to find she's the one who's falling for his bad boy act.

AR: You wrote for several years before you sold your first book. What was it about RIGHT CHEST, WRONG NAME that made the cut where the others didn't?

Colleen: Looking back, I remember a Harlequin author in my critique group reading the first chapter of RIGHT CHEST, WRONG NAME and writing in big, bold letters on the page: "Sold"! She said my voice was finally coming through in my writing, so I guess part of the answer is voice. The other part is timing. Harlequin had just kicked off a romantic comedy line (Love & Laughter) that year, and they were looking for writers who might be a fit.

AR: It's been said that you write some of the best comedy around. Does writing humor just come naturally to you, or do you have to work at it? Are there days when being funny is more difficult than others?

Colleen: Gosh, thanks. Yes, I'd say writing humor comes naturally to me, although the act of writing itself can be a challenge. Are there days when being funny is more difficult than others? Strange as it may seem, I'll say no.

AR: In addition to writing, you also work as a private investigator. Can you tell us more about how you got that job, what kind of work you do, and what it's like? Do the two lines of work have anything in common?

Colleen: My business partner, a retired trial attorney, and I had been discussing starting an investigations business for several years. He already had a strong background, of course, in trial work and criminal law, as well as working closely with investigators for many years. When we decided we were really serious about this venture, I attended a PI Academy, took other PI courses and seminars, and the two of us also began attending PI conferences. We opened our business last summer. As to the work we do, it's everything from surveillance to serving process to domestic relations investigations. What's it like? I have to admit, the work is interesting, sometimes frustrating, often exciting. Does writing and being a private investigator have anything in common? Yes, I think a lot about writing a series with a PI-heroine because I live in both worlds.

AR: So, what's the story about that Harlequin contest and the dinner date?

Colleen: What contest? What dinner date? Was I there? Did I behave? Guess we'd better skip this question.

AR: Finally, what kind of books do you like to read? Who are some of your favorite authors?

Colleen: Right now I'm reading Blacklist by Sara Peretsky. I love how she's weaving history into her plot. Her characters are complex, just like her plotting, but that doesn't slow down the story--it's a page turner. I think Dennis Lehane walks on water. I gobble up Lisa Jackson's thrillers. Love Dean Koontz (the less scary books, like Watchers and Lightning). And many, many romance authors.

AR: Thank you for talking with us!

Colleen: Thank you!

Interviews Index > Colleen Collins (March 05)