Most of my novels are based on true crime and HIDE is no exception. I came up with the premise for the novel eight years ago, when reading a case about a grown man who stalked a young girl by leaving little gifts on her doorstep. Unfortunately, the situation ended tragically, with the stranger abducting the child.

The case always stayed with me. What must it have been like to be those parents? To see the threat but have no legal options? How far would any of us go, should any of us go, to protect our children?

One of the occupational hazards of being an author is that sometimes you fall in love with your characters. I adored Bobby, and by the end of ALONE, felt he had more stories to tell. Returning to him and his cool-eyed sniper’s perspective was one of the biggest treats of writing HIDE.

One of my favorite scenes in HIDE is Catherine and Annabelle finally getting a moment alone, where they can compare notes on their pasts and attempt to sound optimistic about their futures. At face value, Annabelle is the lucky one. Her father’s extreme actions meant she escaped a madman’s clutches. Or did she? How different is her own sense of anxiety, distrust and hopelessness from Catherine’s? These are the fun questions for me to ask and for readers to ponder.

Catherine would never go head to head with an opponent as tough as Annabelle. She’d attempt to poison Annabelle’s drinking water. Failing that, she’d simply slink around looking sexier, richer and more accomplished than her rival. In a woman’s world, that’s punishing enough.

Research is my favorite part of writing. For HIDE, I started the research process by interviewing a forensic anthropologist. Once I gave her the parameters for the mass grave discovered at the opening of HIDE, she suggested wet mummification. Over the years, I’ve gotten some of my best book ideas from the pros in the field. Real life experts have seen it all, and apparently, given crime quite a bit of thought.

In THE SURVIVORS CLUB , I had two convicts discussing how the bloody imprint left on a victim from the seam of the jeans worn by the perpetrator lead to his arrest and conviction. Readers thought I was making it up, but it’s from a real case. Same with forensic freckle analysis, also used to positively ID the arm belonging to a suspect as the same arm pictured in photos with numerous victims. I tell you, research is fun. You never know what great idea you’re going to stumble across next.

No, it gets harder because you learn more about writing with each book so you set the bar higher.  The process never stops; the more you learn, the more you feel challenged to write a better story each time out.

I loved Boston PD Sergeant D.D. Warren from the first moment she strode into ALONE wearing a tight t-shirt with the word Felonious scrawled across her chest. In case readers haven’t noticed, I like characters with attitude. As a matter of fact, I’m working on another novel with her as we speak—but readers will have to wait until summer of 2009 to read the results.

Never say never.

Actually, my next novel returns to my FBI profiler characters. SAY GOODBYE, due out July 2008, features Kimberly Quincy, Mac, Rainie and Quincy from my previous novels, THE KILLING HOUR and GONE. SAY GOODBYE is really Kimberly’s story. She’s five months pregnant and facing the most dangerous predator of her career.