Charlee is the author of thirty-five books, the first ten of which are the WindLegend Saga. Married 36 years to her high school sweetheart, Tom, she is the mother of two grown sons, Pete and Mike, and the proud grandmother of Preston Alexander and Victoria Ashley.

A native of Sarasota, Florida, Charlee was adopted at birth and grew up in Colquitt and Albany, Georgia. She now lives in the Midwest.

Her hobbies are writing, watching Australian actor Hugh Jackman strut his stuff, and trying to keep her adorable husband, Buddha Belly, from snoring. She is owned and operated by six cats.

Currently, she is at work on a new anthology and the third novel in the WindTorn Trilogy.

First torn apart by her parents, then by a destiny they cannot control, Bronwyn McGregor and Sean Cullen face virtually insurmountable odds to find a life together. As young as eleven years, Sean would have done anything, accepted any punishment, to protect Bronnie. Her parents hoped she and Sean would lose interest in one another; instead, their love only increased over time. She's the daughter of a doctor and well-respected family; he's the son of an alcoholic butcher known to beat his wife and son. Then she turns sixteen, and he turns eighteen, and her father serves the ultimatum that they must not see one another.

Despite his desire to be with Bronnie, destiny takes Sean overseas where he enters a dangerous world. Soon he learns he is a Reaper. His bond with Bronnie is eternal because, like wolves, Reapers only bond once. As Sean struggles with the loss of the love of his life, Bronnie likewise mourns. Unknowingly, her grief calls a Nightwind. Bronnie is the last of the McGregor women bound to the Nightwind by grief and history. Now only fate and perseverance can determine who will win Bronwyn McGregor. As painful and destructive events unfold, destiny threatens to keep the Reaper and Bronnie apart forever.

I began writing when I was in the sixth grade so it has been a steady process over the years. My first book was a western I wrote for Michael Landon--had SUCH a crush on Little Joe cartwright!--and I filled a large composition book with WESTERN FLAME. By the time I was fifteen, I was madly, deeply in love with Robert Vaughn from The Magnificent Seven so I wrote another 'book' called THE GREAT GIOVANNI. From there, it was a book for every handsome actor I ever had a crush on. :) This go 'round, it's Dominic West of HBO'S WIRED seires who is the star of SHADOWWIND. As long as Hollywood--and especially Australia--keeps producing good-looking male actors, I guess I'll be writing books for them!

Charlee, a lot of your books have a Celtic theme running through them, is that a part of your own history or just something that you are very interested in?

I am adopted so I really don't know what my ethnic origins are, but my adopted mother's people were Irish. I grew up with a grandfather who played the fiddle and harmonica, danced jigs, drank moonshine from a Mason jar, and told the tallest tales imagineable. I found my love for all things Celtic through him. Celtic music inspires me so I usually have Enya or Loreena McKinnett playing in the background while I write. Celtic legends lend themselves well to the kind of writing I do: dark and dangerous. I think my affinity for all things Celtic means there is a wee berserker lurking in my background.

Are you a writer who plots everything out before starting a book, or one who goes with the flow?

I never outline my books. I go into them with a fixed idea of what I want to happen; snippets of dialogue; character studies, et al but those characters seem to have a mind of their own and even when I'm writing SEANNIE, THE MUSE is sitting on my shoulder, whispering in my ear and if I don't pay attention to him, he'll nag until I do. When he starts signing Danny Boy off-key, I have no choice but do as he suggests. My tales have often spun off into directions I would never have imagined them taking. That's good, though, because my readers tell me the plot twists are what keeps them coming back to my books and turning the pages wondering what could possibly happen next.

You have a lot of other commitments besides writing, where do you find the time to write?

I make the time to do what I live to do: write. I take a tape recorder with me everywhere I go....even the shower (where I write my very best dialogue!) I work a 40 hour week from 8-5 and when I come in in the evenings, I'll usually spend at least an hour working on my latest novel. The weekends are reserved for writing and my family knows not to bother me when my office door is shut. Long holidays are spent either dreaming up a new novel or fine-tuning the one I'm working on. I always do at least four revisions of a work before I ever turn it in to the editor so even if I've finished a book, evenings and holidays will find me going back over it to check facts, timelines, etc. If you are serious about your writing, you'll make the time to do what makes you happy and writing is my life.

What sort of books do you like to read?

I am a very eclectic reader. I like detective stories as well as horror and fantasy. A good romance will
keep me occupied for an hour or two. There are certain authors whose work I never miss: John Sandford, David Wiltse, John Grisham, Dean Koontz, John Saul, Ken Eulo, Brian Lumley, Fr. Andrew Greeley, and when I'm really in a hinky mood: Jude Devereaux, Johanna Lindsey, and Shirlee Busbee. If I want to get lost in a book, I head for Dave Barry who can make me laugh 'til I wet my knickers. Right now, I'm reading the entire LEFT BEHIND series. I'm on book six, I think. I only read when I'm eating so I don't have that much time. I keep one book at my office and one at home so I'm always reading two books all the time. The other book I'm reading right now is Mary Higgins Clark's DADDY'S LITTLE GIRL.

Who is your favorite author or has influenced your writing?

John Sandford. His Lucas Davenport character churns my butter. I was so disappointed when they made a TV movie of that character and they used an actor totally inappropriate for the role. It's one thing to cast a superb actor--as this man is--but when you make a white character black, you have just lost the honesty of the writing. They did the same thing for John Grisham's THE PELICAN BRIEF and it backfired big time. We won't even talk about The Wild, Wild West movie! I adore Will Smith but a western character he ain't.

As for a writer influencing my work: Marilyn Harris' dark historical romance series which began with THE PRINCE OF EDEN and Anya Seton's GREEN DARKNESS, are what had the greatest impact on my style of writing. Their dark male characters just shine! Virginia Coffman's LUCIFER COVE series made me tingle with inspiration.

If you could meet any character from a book, who would it be and why?

The Prime Reaper Kamerone Cree! Hands down! I find him totally sexy and completely intriguing. I have readers tell me they dreamt about him for months after they read BLOODWIND and that when it's sequel, DARKWIND, came out, they rushed to continue the tale. Tall, dark, handsome with long brown hair, amber eyes and dressed entirely in black? That's most every romance writer's ideal male!!

What are you currently working on?

I am writing SHADOWWIND at the moment. It is a dark fantasy that will be coming out in 2004 from Awe-Struck Publishing. I just finished the edits on the 8th book in The WindLegends Saga series and having changed publishers, have 19 books being re-released from three new publishers....including the SF/FUTURISTIC paranormal romance, BLACKWIND, which is due out in October from Amber Quill Press.

What have you found to be the best way of promoting your book?

Visiting genre-specific websites and introducing myself. I look for places that would interview me; I do articles for websites in exchange for a link back to my homepage; I donate my novels as prizes for contests; and I join listservs that cater to the different subgenres within the speculative fiction genre. I also look for websites that review so I can add to the 100+ reviews of the novels on my webpages.

And finally, what advice would you give to writers starting out?

Don't let your family interfere with what you are trying to do. Most of the time, your worst detractors are the very people who love you the most. They don't want to see you hurt so they advise you not to get your hopes up and, in some instances, even try discouraging you from even trying. Some family members and/or friends will develop a very keen jealousy if you show any signs of making a go at your writing. Why? Because you are doing something they can't. Just do your thing and try as best you can to ignore the negativity.

It's a difficult thing to do but if you are serious about your craft; you stick to a writing schedule; you learn all you can about writing and publishing; you seek the help of other writers.....your dream just might come true.

To read more about Charlotte and her books, please visit her website at:

www.windlegends.org

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