KILLING ME SOFTLY (40 page)

Family and friends, hands down. Everything else is transient, jobs and houses and cars and vacations, they all come and go. But those individuals with whom we share intimate relationships define and drive us. I was blessed to have all four of my grandparents in my life for over thirty years, and I treasure the love and memories they gave me, the lessons they taught and examples they set. And now there's a new generation of my family coming on, children of my own, nieces and nephews! It's an utter joy to shower them with love and support, see them grow and develop, watch them reach for their own dreams. The circle of life is truly amazing.

Do you believe in the supernatural?

Yes! I'm a big believer in things that cannot be seen, but rather felt (as is evidenced by some of Cain's challenges). I'm notorious for thinking of a friend, only to have that friend call within the next day or so, even if the friend and I have not spoken in quite some time. I frequently log on to e-mail to contact someone, only to find a note from them in my box. Just recently I couldn't stop thinking of a friend serving in Iraq. I e-mailed him to ask him when he was coming home, only to have him e-mail me back with the news that he had arrived home just that day!

Those are only small examples from my own life … and perhaps they could be chalked up to coincidence. But I do not believe in coincidence. Instead I believe in connections and in energy, and that there is far, far more to this world (and ourselves) than we are aware of. Tapping into it, I believe, is a matter of opening yourself up to possibility and seeing where it takes you. Thoughts are things, I firmly believe, which is why I work hard to keep mine positive, and open.

When you're not writing, what do you enjoy doing?

Simple things. My daughter is my greatest joy. My husband is a pretty close second! I love puttering around in my yard and working on my flower beds, music, reading, movies and watching TV. And no day would be complete without a cat sprawled in my lap (such as the one there right now!).

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Absolutely. I believe there's an awareness right from the beginning, whether it be positive or negative, romantic love or fondness. I've met people whom I've felt like I've known forever, just as I've met people who immediately put me on guard for no apparent reason. I believe there are connections between and among people, and that if you're open to it, you can and will feel these connections from the very first meeting. I still remember the first time I saw my husband. It was a work function. He was across the room. I remember looking up and seeing him. He was laughing, and it was like a ripple straight through me. I felt warmth, even though we lived in cities 1000 miles apart and had never met. Would I call it love? I didn't think so at that moment, but I knew I needed to go over and meet him!

Is there one book that changed your life somehow?

There are many books that have changed my life. An easy answer is Judith McNaught's
Paradise
, which unlocked something inside of me. My imagination soared and my love for romance took over, leaving me no choice but to begin writing my own stories and pursuing publication. On a different note, another book that really changed my life was
Conquering Infertility
by Alice Domar … for obvious reasons!

What are your top three favorite books?

That's a hard one! Island of the
Blue Dolphins
by Scott O'Dell (a children's book).
The Stand
by Stephen King. And … yes,
Paradise
by Judith McNaught.

What are you working on right now?

I'm transitioning, actually! I just finished writing
Veiled Legacy
, book six in an exciting new series (MADONNA KEY) that will be published by Silhouette Bombshell starting next summer. The series features the descendants of ancient priestesses on a race against time to reassemble the lost pieces of a powerful mosaic … and stop the bad guys from unleashing their own insidious brand of terror on the world.

Now I return to southern Louisiana, where I will be continuing the stories of several characters introduced in
Killing Me Softly.
First up is Cain's sister Saura and the mysterious police detective John D'Ambrosia, two solo operators forced to join forces to find out who killed their mutual friend Alec Prejean, and why. Next up is Cain's cousin Gabe Fontenot. Gabe's been having a tough time since Killing Me Softly, and even though Evangeline Rousseau knows she should leave him alone, she can't. Evie has very personal reasons for working her way into Gabe's life! And, finally, in the third book we'll meet

Camille Fontenot, Gabe's younger sister who has been missing for over a decade. We'll learn what she really saw the night her father allegedly committed suicide, why she left town and, more importantly, why she's back! I hope you'll enjoy reading about the Robichauds as much as I enjoy writing about them!

ROBICHAUD FAMILY GUMBO

Cajuns know how to cook, and the Robichauds are no different. Like most long-standing families, recipes are handed down through the generations, but rarely committed to paper. And you're every bit as likely to find a man in the kitchen, as a woman!

While the rest of the country is feasting on turkey at Thanksgiving and roast beef for Christmas, the Robichauds are more likely to be indulging in a gumbo. Every good Cajun knows there are almost endless possibilities to a good gumbo, from chicken and sausage, to seafood, to venison, etc. But to start you out, here's a peek at how the Robichauds make shrimp and crab gumbo!

2 lb whole shrimp

10 cups water

2 tsp salt

1/4 lb shortening

1/2 cup flour

1large white onion, chopped

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1 cup chopped okra

1 tbsp minced parsley

1lb crabmeat

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Salt to taste

1 tbsp filé powder

4 cups hot, cooked rice

Peel and head the shrimp, put the meat aside. Put the water, salt and shrimp peels into a large soup pot and bring to a boil. Keep boiling for approximately 30 minutes, or until the water has been reduced to about 4 cups. Strain out the shells and reserve the liquid. Set aside.

Add the shortening to a large soup pot and melt. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly until the mixture, called a "roux" is a dark nutty-brown color. (The darker the color, the richer the roux. But don't burn.) Add the chopped white onion, celery and okra. Cook until they brown.

Add the parsley and cook for another 5 minutes. Blend the reserved shrimp liquid into the ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and continue cooking for another 30 or so minutes. Add the shrimp and cook for 2 minutes more. Blend in the fil6 powder. Put 1/2 cup hot, cooked rice into a large bowl, and ladle the gumbo on top. Hunker down, and enjoy. Serves 6-8.

TARA PREJEAN'S PAIN PERDU

There's nothing like a plantation breakfast. When establishing her bed-and-breakfast, Tara Prejean knew one of the ways she could make sure her guests came back for more was to give them something special for breakfast … and hence her Pain Perdu was born.

In the old days, money was tight and Creoles couldn't afford to throw away food. Stale bread, they learned, could actually be quite useful—bread crumbs, croutons, bread pudding and … French toast (lost bread/pain perdu). Baked fresh daily, French bread only maintains its freshness for a short amount of time. But slice it up and dip the pieces in a sugary batter, then fry them up … oh, la, la!

Here's what you need:

3 eggs

1/4 cup sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp cinnamon

1/2 tbsp nutmeg

1 cup milk

2 sticks butter

1 loaf stale French bread

(or 10 slices of regular bread)

Powdered sugar

Cane syrup

Here's what you do
: Beat the eggs and sugar together until the sugar is dissolved. Blend in the vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Whisk in milk. If using French bread, cut the bread crosswise into 1-inch slices (otherwise use presliced bread). Melt the butter in a heavy skillet. When butter is hot, begin cooking the bread by dipping each slice into the egg and milk mixture, then placing it in the hot butter. Brown the bread on both sides. Remove to serving platter. Spread with margarine, if you like. Add a dusting of powdered sugar and a dribble of syrup. Enjoy! Serves 6.

I've always been fascinated by old places. There's a feel to them, a texture, as if the echoes and memories of all those who lived there before linger somehow, inviting and seducing. If you close your eyes, you can almost see everything as it once was.

As a little girl, I loved visiting the old antebellum plantations of Louisiana. I would walk through the grand entry halls and walk up the sweeping staircases, run my hand along the banisters and let my imagination soar.

Somewhere along the time Cain and Renee's story was first starting to form in my mind, I was home visiting my parents. Now my father, he's an avid amateur photographer, and visits home always include viewing the photographs he's taken since our last visit. He travels a great deal, so I'm always in for a treat. This time was no different. This time I was flipping through his photo album when I ran across one of the most haunting photographs I'd ever seen. Columns. That was all. Beautiful, ornate, weathered columns standing by themselves in a heavily wooded area. Clearly they'd once embraced a home. But the columns were all that remained, rising like placeholders against a steely gray sky.

And just like that, Cain and Renee's story had a home—a home that no longer stood. Suddenly I could see everything. I could see Cain standing among those columns, waiting for his lover to emerge from the woods. I could hear the echoes of her voice, and feel the whisper of the wind. I could feel his anguish. His horror. His guilt. And then I could see them there many months later, when she came back to him—and he walked away. And I could see him standing there again another night, ready to put the past to rest and embrace the future.

A photograph … that's all it was. But for me, those columns provided the soul to the story, and the rest, as they say, was history.