Marketing for Romance Writers Magazine July, 2018 Volume # 1, Issue # 7 | Page 5

PE KAVANAGH (Cont.) INTERVIEW MFRW: Why did you decide to write romance novels? PEK: I‘m completely obsessed with the human mind and spirit, which I‘ve been studying for at least twenty years. I also think that the greatest incubator for human development is the intimate relationship, so all my stories (so far) include that element. They sometimes veer quite a bit toward psychological fiction, but I love the central theme of a love story. I understand the desire to escape to these worlds as well as the desire to see ourselves in the flawed and lovable heroes and heroines. Romance tells me, over and over, that so many more things are possi- ble than what I might find in my ordinary life. It is exciting, inspiring, and emotionally satisfying. Unlike many authors I talk to, I‘m rarely happier than when I get to write about some sexy time. Writing a fight scene or a chase scene would have me hitting my head against a wall. But a sex scene puts a big, fat smile across my face. MFRW: Tell us about your latest book. What motivated the story? Where did the idea come from? Where do your story ideas usually come from? PEK: My newest series, called Friends & Lovers, has been a wonderful experience to write. The first two books are recently published, and the third will be 5 available this summer. Like all my stories, the ones from Friends & Lovers came to me in a series of dreams and daydreams. I‘ve always had an extremely overactive imagination (which I appre- ciate!) and snippets of sto- ries are always weaving in and out of my mind. When I began fleshing out these tales, I didn‘t know they were connected. It was only much far- ther into the process that I realized the cast from one story had a variety of connections—from fam- ily, history, work, and social—to the others. What I‘m left with is a world with three strong, primary families, and the stories they tell. My readers are always asking if side characters will get their own stories too, which I‘m open to. As of now, I don‘t know how many books will comprise this series, but I‘m guessing it will be at least five. [Continued on Page 6.]