question: Will more of Tamara be continued? Does she get into USC? Does she marry Will? Do they have beautiful children?

answer: Yes and no. You will see more of Tamara and her mother, Susan, in In Between Men. But that book belongs to Isa and a new character, Alex Lujon. As for all those other burning questions, you’ll have to read In Between Men to find out if Tamara got accepted to USC, etc.

If you want to know when you can reserve your copy of In Between Men, please sign up for my newsletter.

question: Did you ever have a one night stand like Isela or was that made up too?

answer: No mother, I never had a one night stand. But like Isela I did meet a few famous people during my brief stint as a story development intern. I sat next to Keanu Reeves while picking up a script from CAA. I also saw Julia Roberts and Lyle Lovett once, and held a producer’s Academy Award.

A quick side note, my husband was supposed to be my senior year fling. Nine years later our fling continues.

question: Where do you get your ideas?

answer: I don’t know. Okay, bad answer. How about this: I’m a shameless eavesdropper at airports, restaurants, coffee houses, and other public venues. Furthermore my family and friends are aware that anything they do or say, particularly if such an action strays into the ridiculous; it’s going to wind up in a story.

Hot Tamara came from a conversation I overheard between a waitress and a bus boy. My Favorite Mistake came from a ghost story/romance I concocted one night while sitting through a horror movie marathon at the Orpheum. And In Between Men (my book that follows these first two) came from all the single moms I’ve known and admired.

Once I have the idea I try to figure out how I can make my characters’ lives unbearable for your reading pleasure.

question: Is Isa the same character as Isela Vargas in your upcoming book, In Between Men?

answer: Nope. I must have had I-names on the brain when I wrote Isela Vargas’ story in “My Favorite Mistake”. I was in the middle of revisions to Isa Avellan’s story, In Between Men, when I was asked to contribute to Friday Night Chicas. So Isa had to be put aside for Isela and so there you have it. Anyway, these are two radically different characters and I think Isa secretly wished she was more like Isela; whereas Isela would look at Isa and sarcastically ask if she shopped at Toda Moda. In Between Men (Avon Trade) is scheduled to come out March 2006 and yes, I have plans for future adventures with Isela!

question: How much of Hot Tamara is your real life?

answer: Well I did live in L.A., other than that it’s all made up with, oh does one say this, familiar faces along the way. But the theme of going after your heart’s desire is certainly a very personal one for me. When I left home it was tough on my close knit family. But you have to spread your wings and the ones who love you will come around and accept it sooner or later. Also, I always wanted a Karmann Ghia!

question: Who are your favorite writers?

answer: I’ll put them in alphabetical order: Isabel Allende, Libba Bray, Madeleine Brent, Suzanne Brockmann, The Brontes, Raymond Chandler, Jennifer Crusie, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Charles Frazier, Arthur Golden, Ernest Hemingway, Marsha Moyer, Anne Rice, Nora Roberts, J.K. Rowling, and Victor Villaseñor.

Check In The Book Bag for more recent favorites.

question: How long have you been a writer?

answer: I’ve been a professional writer since 1994, starting as a screenwriting student. To my credit – or discredit if I let you read them – I have two screenplays, two unpublished manuscripts, and extensive notes for an epic in addition to my published work. My resume, however, is an employer’s nightmare because the longest I worked in any job was three years. The best job I ever had was reporting for the Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot and if I could do it over again, I would’ve started my career in reporting. However, I might not have written books so maybe it’s a good thing I stuck with all those boring advertising copywriting jobs.

question: How many times were you rejected and why did you keep going?

answer: In total I’ve been rejected 21 times. I kept going because I could easily see myself driving my car off the Newport Pier than giving up on publishing a book. You laugh, (or gasp) but it’s true. Before I sold Hot Tamara, I wrote during my lunch hour, during traffic to and from work (using a tape recorder of course), on weekends, at night, and yes, on those really slow boring days when I was the only one working at the office.

Rejection has become almost second nature because when you attend a performing arts school like I did starting in seventh grade, you get rejected (and sometimes cruelly so) ALL THE TIME. Sometimes I feel like I’ve achieved success when I have 22 books written that outweigh those rejections.

question: I have an idea for a/wrote a novel? Will you read it?

answer: For legal reasons, I cannot read unpublished material. If you want critiques on your work, consider joining a writer’s organization such as Romance Writers Of America or enter your work into contests that provide feedback and award critiques from editors and agents.

question: I have an idea for a novel or my life would make an amazing novel. Interested in writing it for or with me?

answer: Sorry but I will be the first to admit that I don’t play well with others. That’s why I became a writer! I suggest taking a writing class or a seminar. Only you can write that story that’s circling in your head and if you believe you can do it, you will. Good luck!

question: Is your last name pronounced Castell-oh?

answer: It’s pronounced Cas-tee-oh. In Spanish we don’t pronounce two L’s. I once got into an argument with a gentleman I was interviewing for a feature about charitable giving during the holidays. This individual insisted that my name was pronounced Castello because he knew about cheese. (Huh? That was my reaction too.) Anyway, he was later arrested for public intoxication and I had the satisfaction of putting him in my police blotter.

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