AccessRomance interviews author Dorie Graham.

AR: Your August book, THE MORNING AFTER, is the first in your new Sexual Healing mini-series. Can you tell us a bit more about this series--what it's about, how you got the idea for it, and what it was like to write it?

Dorie: My Sexual Healing series is about the McClellan sisters, who come from a long line of sexual healers. These women actually heal men by sleeping with them. I thought it would be fun to show how this “gift” manifests a little differently in each of the three sisters.

With Nikki, my heroine in THE MORNING AFTER, the gift is so powerful that she heals her lovers in one encounter. They feel strong enough to run out and conquer the world, which they do, much to her dismay, always leaving her alone the morning after. When Dylan Cain stays, she thinks it’s only a matter of time before he follows the others, but he, of course, eventually puts her fears to rest.

The second book, SO MANY MEN…, is about Nikki’s sister, Tess, who longs to make friends with the women of a local women’s club. Tess’s healing power takes a little longer to work, and her former lovers stick around long after the loving, much to Mason Davies’s consternation. As the ex-fiancé of the president of the women’s group, Mason is the last man Tess should get involved with if she ever hopes to gain acceptance among the women. He’s so in need of her healing touch, though, how can she resist?

In FAKING IT, the final book of the trilogy, Erin runs away to live a “normal” life far removed from the sexual healing lore of her crazy family. She has ample reason to doubt that she’s inherited the McClellan gift. Not only do men not leave her bed hardy and hale and a world better for having shared her company, they end up sick, suffering from the worst gastrointestinal torment. It’s enough to make Erin swear off men. How long will her resolve last, though, when Jack Langston seeks her out and helps her discover her own special brand of sexual healing? Jack has a secret he’s keeping from Erin, though, one that will force her to accept her unique heritage.

I got the idea for this series when I was discussing Tantra with a friend and decided it would be a good topic for a Blaze. Nikki’s story grew from there, and it wasn’t until I was working on the proposal for that first book that I realized Nikki had sisters with stories of their own.

Writing this miniseries was the biggest challenge yet of my writing career. These books were part of a four-book contract, the first book being EYE CANDY, an April 2004 release.

Looking back, it’s hard to fathom how I managed to meet deadline on top of deadline with all that I have to do in my regular life. I wrote during my lunch hour at work, late at night, into the wee hours, in line at the post office or grocery store. I wrote at stoplights, in waiting rooms and even trailed after my daughters in the mall, holding my AlphaSmart in one hand and typing with the other as I walked. It was all about using every spare moment during the two or so years it took me to complete that four-book contract.

AR: Your first book was published by Harlequin Blaze in 2002. How long had you been writing romance before you sold? Were you focused on Blaze only or did you try for other imprints and/or sub-genres as well?

Dorie: I seriously pursued writing romance for about five years before I sold my first book. I think of that time as priming the pump, and it took me that long to hit clear water. THE LAST VIRGIN was my fourth completed manuscript.

I submitted my first attempts to SuperRomance and the now defunct Love and Laughter line. I was targeting Harlequin Temptation with VIRGIN. I met my editor at the RWA conference in New Orleans before that first sale, and I was stunned when she said my voice was suited for the then new Blaze line and asked me if I’d consider rewriting the manuscript for Blaze. I am admittedly a fairly conservative person and felt I was pushing my comfort level to target Temptation. How could I write a Blaze? After an afternoon of soul searching and brainstorming with one of my critique partners to see if I could come up with more ideas for the line, I agreed to take the plunge. I’ve been happy to focus on Blaze ever since.

AR: Where do you see yourself five years from now, writing wise?

Dorie: Five years from now I hope to be able to give up my day job to write full time. This would include continuing in category as well as expanding into women’s fiction, which I hope to do over the next two to three years. As a single mother of three, this plan may be ambitious but not unachievable, and I won’t be able to live with myself until I give it my best shot.

AR: Between a full-time job and being a single mom who homeschools her children, you must have a pretty busy schedule. What's your secret to finding time to write?

Dorie: Some days my schedule is impossible. I get up at six, work all day, come home to have dinner with my daughters, spend time with my youngest, who attends public school, first going over homework, then snuggling with her before bed. Then I work with my two oldest girls on school (we do two full days on the weekend). If I’m lucky, I make it to the computer by ten, but sometimes it’s midnight or later. Thankfully, when I’m pushing a deadline, I can get by with minimal sleep. As I said earlier, I use every spare minute, and I multitask whenever possible. Also, I’ve learned to prioritize and cut out all extraneous activities. It helps that my girls have taken over most of the cooking and cleaning and the two oldest look after their younger sister. My daughters know that in spite of my schedule they will always be my top priority. I make time with them count, and this helps me keep the balance I need to juggle so much.

AR: Besides writing, what do you like to do in your spare time? Do you have any hobbies?

Dorie: I dream of spare time. Fortunately, my girls enjoy my favorite pastimes of reading and watching movies, so I get to enjoy them during our time together. Strangely enough, my teenagers like being read to. We just finished J.K. Rowling’s, HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE.

As far as hobbies, It's been a lifetime since I've had the time or energy for one, but one day I envision myself taking watercoloring lessons and finding a local chorus to sing in. I did at one time in my life make all my own clothes and briefly entertained the idea of becoming a fashion designer.

AR: Finally, please tell us what's next after your Sexual Healing series.

Dorie: It’s hard to say what’s next after the miniseries. Due to some huge challenges in my personal life, I’m taking a self-imposed break from my writing until we’re on steadier ground. I do have a few proposals for new Blazes, though, that I’ve discussed with my editor and that I’m working on. With luck, I’ll get something together in time for release in late 2006 or early 2007.

AR: Thank you for chatting with us!

Dorie: Thanks for having me!