Cathy Maxwell: I don't know if I will branch out. I respect the genre. My mother, sisters, and I talk about romance novels and writers in the same vein English profs carry on about Dickens and Twain. Plus, writing romance is fun. Five years from now, I suspect I'll be writing romance in one form or the other. By the way, I'm still an avid reader, albeit a demanding one. I love a good book and don't watch much telly.

Crescent Blues: As an author, is it difficult to enjoy romance novels as a reader instead of as an editor or critic?

Cathy Maxwell: I love a good tale. I'm not into fantasy, grit or horror, but I'm open to everything else. When I read, I shut the real word out. I suppose I do pick up ideas on style and characterization and, yes, another story has sparked an idea in my own mind, but I don't believe I do it purposefully. As far as being a critic, I'm a pretty picky reader to begin with but I'm not critical when I'm enjoying a book. Presently, I'm reading A Kiss to Remember by Teresa Medeiros. I just finished Julia Quinn's An Offer from a Gentleman and had read a book coming out titled The Marriage Masquerade by Cheryl Anne Porter that was a delightful read.

Crescent Blues: Can reviews offer encouragement as well as bring you down?

Cathy Maxwell: I was theater trained and cut my teeth in live television -- talk about critics -- so I've learned to look for meaningful input and ignore the barbs. I do read my reviews. In order to improve, a writer must have feedback. Of course, no one is more critical of my writing than I am. I've read glowing reviews that I've disagreed with and critical ones that followed my own opinions. I believe just as the reviewers critique us, we should critique them. I trust the opinions of those critics who truly understand the genre. Others are too self-indulgent and I don't give them much regard. Of course, the critics I really listen to are the readers. Never undervalue the reader. Never believe your own press.

Crescent Blues: What's the goal-setting process for you?

Cathy Maxwell: I make a list of goals each year and tape it up on my computer beside my list of priorities (family, God, etc.). As long as I'm working on either one list or the other, I'm successful. Bestseller lists and awards don't hold the allure for me as receiving feedback from a reader who really understood what I was saying in a book. I sense that even amongst ourselves, we dismiss romance as fluff.

Crescent Blues: What's a typical day of writing for you?

Cathy Maxwell: I get in about three hours of writing a day. Sometimes more, sometimes less. I'm also making lunches, answering the phone, running my business, managing the household (my husband travels), organizing children, and, of course, there are my beloved horses.

Crescent Blues: What helped the initial writing process?

Cathy Maxwell: The writing process was easier for me once I joined a critique group. My first partners were Sherrilyn Kenyon and Donna Whitfield. The three of us met through Virginia Romance Writers and formed our own little group. Within two years of seriously working on our books, all three of us were published. To this day, Sherri is one of the most imaginative writers I know and Donna is one of the best. Our meeting each other was serendipity.

Crescent Blues: Are there rules for writing romance?

Cathy Maxwell: I don't believe there are "rules." There is only the story. My sole responsibility is to tell the story by any means available.

Crescent Blues: Do the characters come before the plot and do they dictate the direction of the plot?

Cathy Maxwell: For me, the concept comes before the plot. I catch a glimpse in my mind of what I want to write about and the characters spring from that point.

Crescent Blues: How do you keep the characters fresh and unique?

Cathy Maxwell: It is always difficult to keep characters fresh. I'm even more concerned about plagiarizing myself. Readers have long memories. They don't want to read the same plot over and over. Consequently, I don't imbue my hero and heroine with unique characteristics but with universal traits we all recognize in ourselves. Once a story is personalized, when the reader understands motives, needs, desires, then it works.

Crescent Blues: Do you have a "tried and true" process for character building?

Cathy Maxwell: For me it is about layering and working with the characters. I like strong characters and follow Debra Dixon's Goal, Motivation, Conflict grid to develop them.

Crescent Blues: Which Hollywood archetypes most closely resemble your heroes?

Cathy Maxwell: Archetypes…I use the warrior often. I love the image of the man who is certain being confronted by doubt. I also like the seeker. Of course, all these archetypes change to the lover.

Crescent Blues: Would you describe yourself as a good listener and open to learning?

Cathy Maxwell: Absolutely I'm open. I don't know how good of a listener I am but I'm open-minded. I learn from other writers, from those who have gone ahead. (And I believe I should credit the author for those pieces of wisdom.)

Crescent Blues: You're fond of a quote by French writer and patriot Antoine de Saint-Exupery: "And now here is my secret; a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye." What is essential to you, your view of others or your characters?

Cathy Maxwell: When I meet people, I'm looking for soul. The shell is often deceiving. I hear what people say, but I'm more interested in their actions, their commitment to their convictions. How does this affect my characters? Well, I attempt to give them humanity, which means they don't always react in perfect ways. But their hearts are good; their motives, true.

My characters are often in search of vindication, of righting past mistakes. I think all of us carry the burden of what we wish had done differently at some point or the other and there are those who fear they have sinned so gravely there is no hope. I disagree. I believe one of the things love brings to the table is the ability to heal such fears. Another common theme among my heroines, in particular, is this need to exert themselves in an oppressive society. Of finally knowing that if they are to effect a change in their life they must make the first step. And I believe that is true in reality. All of our major life events stem from each of us individually making the first move or being forced by others out of our comfort zone. No one ever lived fully wrapped up in a cocoon.

Crescent Blues: Do you think the film industry's edgier, cynical take on relationships will have a negative impact on romance?

Cathy Maxwell: We are selling more books than ever before. I don't buy Doomsday theories and I'm not a scarcity thinker. Two years ago, everyone was claiming historicals are dead. Now they are back bigger than ever. I don't want to say what people read is cyclical, but I do think they hunger for fresh stories. They'd glom every lawyer book they can get when they are into lawyers, and then something they'd enjoyed before but now seems new catches their attention, and they hone in on that genre.

Crescent Blues: Speaking of selling more books, it looks like 2002 will be another banner year for you. Could you give our readers an idea of what to expect?

Cathy Maxwell: My next novel, The Lady Is Tempted, a Regency-set historical, is due out from Avon in July 2002. There will also be stories in two anthologies. The first, Western Brides, is due out from Harlequin in June 2001. Pocket plans to release the second anthology, Tea for Two, in August.

Crescent Blues: Do your heroes cry?

Cathy Maxwell: I suppose they could. I've written heroes that are lost, betrayed, fearful. One or two has felt the sting of tears but held them back.

Crescent Blues: How do you keep the hero from overpowering the heroine, given the class and educational limitations of the historical period?

Cathy Maxwell: First, I don't believe one partner overshadows the other in a healthy relationship, and I am writing about a relationship, not politics. That being said, I don't see the Regency as being a limiting time period. It was the beginning of the modern age. Social revolutions were taking place. It was a vibrant period teeming with all sorts of personalities and ideas. Women were asking for education and taking on the role of political arbiters. There was Mary Wollenstonecraft and her daughter Mary Shelley who wrote Frankenstein. Eccentric women were becoming adventurers and pursuing ideas out of the commonplace.

Yes, there was the protected debutante but she was protected only if she was worth a great deal of money. And after she married and delivered an heir, she was free to pursue her life. There were also women who were running businesses -- dressmakers, innkeepers, perfumers -- so much more than the usual governesses and nannies. Consider the number of women authors there were during this time period: [Maria] Edgeworth, [Ann] Radcliffe, [Jane] Austen, the Brontes, [Caroline and Mary] Lamb.

I believe there are many wonderful stories in the Regency, stories beyond the duke and the waif. I want to explore those stories. It's true I push the envelope a bit. Many of my heroines are not conventional "romance" heroines, and the heroes don't always receive their power from their titles. I understand reader expectation but slowly I've been trying to bring my readers on this journey with me and have been since my first book All Things Beautiful, the story of a wealthy merchant and a disgraced debutante.

Crescent Blues: Talk about friendships in your writing world.

Cathy Maxwell: I'd love to go back into marketing. I've toyed with the idea of returning for my masters in religious studies. I like the challenge of developing programs from the ground up. I'm an "idea" person who grows bored with the day to day.

Crescent Blues: What writing organizations have been instrumental in your development as a writer?

Cathy Maxwell: Romance Writers of America (RWA). Through the local chapters I belong to, I've served my apprenticeship in writing and made my closest friendships.

Crescent Blues: Are you active in RWA and other organizations?

Cathy Maxwell: I've held several board positions for RWA chapters I belong to -- currently I'm the treasurer of one and conference workshop coordinator of another. I've been Advocacy Chairperson for Novelists Inc. I volunteer for RWA national. Locally, I help organize a writing workshop with my county library and enjoy going out and speaking to clubs and readers groups

Crescent Blues: Are there any parting words of encouragement you'd like to share?

Cathy Maxwell: My advice to unpublished authors is to keep the faith. Believe in yourself. There are times in this business when you are the only one who will believe. Don't look to others for validation. Enjoy the journey. Never rest on success. And above all else, be fearless. There are two sides to the discipline of writing. The first is the plodding journeyman approach to craft and the second is something mercurial. It defies description. It's unique to you alone, born out of your own inspiration and the insight you've gained into others' souls through your experiences. What you are offering is yours alone to give. And second, never give up. Ever. There is only one direction and that is forward.

Michelle Monkou

Michelle Monkou, author of Open Your Heart, released in November 2002, lives in the metropolitan D.C. area.

Click here to read Michelle Monkou's review of Cathy Maxwell's The Wedding Wager."