Our Authors - In The Spotlight

Christie Ridgeway
author of seven contemporary novels for Silhouette Books.

Interviewed by Sylvia Mendoza

Who was your biggest influence in the romance field? In other genres? Why?

CR: Biggest influence? That's though, because I think it's necessary to find your own voice. That's when I stopped trying to be someone else and found my way to tell a story. But I read stacks of books in the genre in order to find out where my talents would best fit. If I had to pick one favorite author in romance, it would be Susan Elizabeth Phillips, though I love many authors. Non-romance? Maybe Tom Wolfe. Books like THE ELECTRIC KOOL-AID ACID TEST and THE RIGHT STUFF are told in an exciting, intimate way.

When and why did you get started in the romance genre? Have you written any other types of books? Any other type of writing background?

CR: I was an English major in college and had always wanted to be a writer. I started out as a technical writer after college which led me to a more lucrative career as a computer programmer. After my first child was born, I had a dinner with a friend I hadn't seen in a long time. She asked me when I was going to do start doing what I'd always wanted to do all my life. I decided I was going to start right then. I joined Romance Writers of America a couple of months later and made my first sale in December of '95.

Is your life anything like the romance you write?

CR: Well, since I write contemporary romances, I'd say my life is somewhat like the characters I write about. My characters, particularly the heroines, have similar reactions that I would have in the same situation.

In your opinion, where is romance going for the next century? Will romance always be around? Will the Internet affect romance? How?

CR: Romance in the next century? Aack! I think the marketplace will become more global, is becoming more global as the publishers are entering countries like China, that previously were untapped. I see the Internet possibilities in regards to sales. People will use it, are already, to get the books they want. I don't think I'm far-seeing enough to know how else it will affect the industry.

Romance will always be around, though specific trends will be cyclical. But romance speaks to women, and won't stop speaking to them. Women are interested in relationships, love, and being entertained. Romance novels have that for them.

Sylvia Mendoza has signed a two book contract with Kensington Publishing for their new line Encanto. She is a journalist and freelance writer who specializes in personality profiles. The former owner of an all-woman run, bilingual public relations company, she currently serves as Non-Fiction editor of San Diego Writers' Monthly.