About Ana

I discovered my love of writing at a very early age, probably because I began reading at age 3, thanks to my aunt, Nellie, whose only gifts to me at Christmas and birthdays were books. Lots and lots of books. Consequently, my writing career started at age 10, when I began writing, directing, and producing plays for the Youth and Sunday School programs at my church on the island of Nevis in the West Indies. I also wrote Christian songs that my brothers, (who are all musicians) and I used to sing in church.

In high school, I experimented with love poems that were the crave among my classmates, and later on with my co-workers when I entered the workplace. Their praises, and the fact that my late sister, Delores, who used to send me Jive, Black Romance, and True Story magazines from St. Maarten, prompted me to leave Sunday School plays in the dust, and try my hand at romance.

It's an eclectic range of genres, I know. But I feel that I was born to be a writer, but more specifically, a romance novel author.

I’m a character driven writer and I see people interacting in my head before I know the plot. A story may come to me in a dream or it might be triggered when I see someone doing or saying something out of the ordinary, or something quite simple. My inspiration for Erik, the hero in The Doctor’s Secret Bride came about at a funeral. I saw this sad man standing beside his wife’s coffin; he was holding a little girl’s hand, and I thought, “You poor, poor man, what happened to you?” My, then, precocious 5-year old daughter inspired Precious’ character. Michelle just fell from the sky, like an angel.  As it turned out, she was an angel for both Erik and Precious. I use the same idea process for each book I write.

Well, I’ve been reading romances since I was a teenager—Mills & Boones, Harlequin/Silhouette, Regencies, and Historical Romance novels. I devoured them, sometimes four in a week. There was several points when I’d read all the romances in the library, and had to wait for new shipments—very frustrating periods for me. My love for romance began when I was a teeanager and my sister used to send me Black Love, True Stories, Jive, and other such magazines from St. Marteen, where she lived at the time.

However, I think my passion to write romances kick-started after I read Brenda Jackson’s “Tonight and Forever.” Finally, there were romance novels featuring Brown-skinned heroes and heroines. Inspired by Ms. Jackson and her beautiful love stories, I began writing my first romance novel, "A Mother for Precious" in 1996. I changed the title in 2011 to "The Doctor’s Secret Bride', when I decided to self-publish and make it the first book in the Billionaire Brides of Granite Falls series. 

I have two favorite books: “Far From The Madding Crowd” by Thomas Hardy, and “Middle March” by George Elliot. I love the intricacies of the heroines’ characters in those two books. I read both books in high school for literature class, but of course I have read many others that have become favorites. "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker is one of them.

I didn’t have one particular favorite book as a child, but instead I read and loved the collection of stories from Hans Christian Anderson, The Bobsie Twins, and Nancy Drew to name a few.

YES! I have writer’s block big time, many times during my writing process. It’s the most frustrating experience for writers to go through. At those times, I’ve learned to just walk away from the manuscript for a couple days until my brain recharges.

Oh yes! Curried and buffalo chicken wings, rum and raisin ice cream, and lots and lots of wine. I try not to keep them in the house too often

After trying to be traditionally published for two decades, and being rejected time and time again, I finally decided that enough was enough. I had to make my own dream come true. I was inspired by Ruth Cardello’s success as an indie author. Ruth and I met in 2010 at another romance author’s summer garden party and we were both trying to sell to Harlequin at the time. She went indie the next year and made the NYT Bestsellers List within a few months. I attended RWA Nationals in 2011 where several authors talked about their rejections, which let them to self-publish. Since Ruth and I wrote similar books, I thought I’d try my own hand at indie publishing. I went home, re-wrote The Doctor’s Secret Bride, and published it in June 2012. I’m so happy for all those wonderful rejections from New York, and I haven’t regretted my decision to self-publish, not for a minute.

I would say, make a writing schedule, carve out a specific time during the day or night to write, and stick with it. Tune out the rest of the world and don’t feel guilty about it, or else writing will remain a hobby and never materialize into a business.

I like the alpha males in Harlequin Presents books. Some readers think them cruel, but I consider them strong, ambitious men, who know what they want, and who are not above threatening and blackmailing the heroines into pleasing situations for both of them. But I know if the heroines called their bluff, they’d back down—at least, that’s what mine do; then it would be a different kind of story.  I love feisty heroines who challenge the heroes—make them scratch their heads in wonder.  In the end, she always gets her man and brings him to his knees, one way or the other.

Listen to your heart, and don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t make it. I’ve heard that the difference between an unpublished and published author is perseverance. Never give up on your dreams, and surround yourselves with people who support you and who can help you realize your dreams. Walk away from the naysayers. Michelle from The Doctor's Secret Bride was a dreamer who never gave up, even when all hope seemed lost. She fought for what she wanted and landed a handsome, sexy billionaire in the process.

"You have to tell the truth!" Sound words from Jamaica Kincaid when I came face-to-face with her and asked her about some of the events she wrote in her books.

Here is one of Jamaica Kincaid's truths: “An ugly thing, that is what you are when you become a tourist ... a piece of rubbish pausing here and there to gaze at this and taste that, and it will never occur to you that the people who inhabit the place in which you have just paused cannot stand you, that behind their closed doors they laugh at your strangeness …” Jamaica Kincaid in “A Small Place”

The Truth for me is listening to my characters and letting them write their stories, even if I sometimes disagree with them. I have found that the story-writing process goes a lot faster and easier if I write their truths. This advise resonates with me as I write Seduced by Passion because the heroine, Xiomara, is from African and Kalinago descent. The Kalinagos are one of the indigenous tribes who occupied the Caribbean Islands when Columbus and his gang invaded their space and all but annihilated them. I have created an indigenous group, modeled from the Kalinago, who live on the fictitious island of Akilina. They were able to keep the colonists at bay, and in doing so, preserved their culture and ways of life. And boy, do they have some TRUTHS to tell!

I’ve written a book in three months, but I think if I want a book to be great, I need about five to six months to fully develop the characters, and the strong emotions a lot of readers say they love in my stories.

Most definitely! I take myself, and my daughter out to a nice dinner. I often indulge in a nice bottle of wine and some chocolate, too.

Yes, I plan to write a young adult series and the first story will be Precious and Jason's journey to love while in college. I think that's fitting since Precious and Jason were the first principle children we met in the series. They're all grown up now and ready to talk. And they have a lot of opiniions, far removed from their parents'. I can't wait to write their story.

Actually, I have been toying with that idea. It would be nice to introduce some new blood to Granite Falls and have them occasionally bump into the Fabulous Four. Don't you think?

I would have to say that I discovered my love for writing at a very early age. When I was around nine, I began writing script/plays for the Youth and Sunday School programs at my church on the island of Nevis in the West Indies. Then later on, I wrote Christian songs that my brothers and I used to sing in church, and love poems that I shared with my closest high school classmates, and then with my co-workers once I entered the workforce—a strange combination, I know. I feel that I was born to be a writer.

I’m a character driven writer and I see people interacting in my head before I know the plot. A story may come to me in a dream or it might be triggered when I see someone doing or saying something out of the ordinary, or something quite simple. My inspiration for Erik, the hero in The Doctor’s Secret Bride came about at a funeral. I saw this sad man standing beside his wife’s coffin; he was holding a little girl’s hand, and I thought, “You poor, poor man, what happened to you?” My, then, precocious 5-year old daughter inspired Precious’ character. Michelle just fell from the sky, like an angel.  As it turned out, she was an angel for both Erik and Precious. I use the same idea process for each book I write.

Well, I’ve been reading romances since I was a teenager—Mills & Boones, Harlequin/Silhouette, Regencies, and Historical Romance novels. I devoured them, sometimes four in a week. There was several points when I’d read all the romances in the library, and had to wait for new shipments—very frustrating periods for me. My love for romance began when I was a teeanager and my sister used to send me Black Love, True Stories, Jive, and other such magazines from St. Marteen, where she lived at the time.

However, I think my passion to write romances kick-started after I read Brenda Jackson’s “Tonight and Forever.” Finally, there were romance novels featuring Brown-skinned heroes and heroines. Inspired by Ms. Jackson and her beautiful love stories, I began writing my first romance novel, "A Mother for Precious" in 1996. I changed the title in 2011 to "The Doctor’s Secret Bride', when I decided to self-publish and make it the first book in the Billionaire Brides of Granite Falls series. 

I have two favorite books: “Far From The Madding Crowd” by Thomas Hardy, and “Middle March” by George Elliot. I love the intricacies of the heroines’ characters in those two books. I read both books in high school for literature class, but of course I have read many others that have become favorites. "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker is one of them.

I didn’t have one particular favorite book as a child, but instead I read and loved the collection of stories from Hans Christian Anderson, The Bobsie Twins, and Nancy Drew to name a few.

YES! I have writer’s block big time, many times during my writing process. It’s the most frustrating experience for writers to go through. At those times, I’ve learned to just walk away from the manuscript for a couple days until my brain recharges.

Oh yes! Curried and buffalo chicken wings, rum and raisin ice cream, and lots and lots of wine. I try not to keep them in the house too often

After trying to be traditionally published for two decades, and being rejected time and time again, I finally decided that enough was enough. I had to make my own dream come true. I was inspired by Ruth Cardello’s success as an indie author. Ruth and I met in 2010 at another romance author’s summer garden party and we were both trying to sell to Harlequin at the time. She went indie the next year and made the NYT Bestsellers List within a few months. I attended RWA Nationals in 2011 where several authors talked about their rejections, which let them to self-publish. Since Ruth and I wrote similar books, I thought I’d try my own hand at indie publishing. I went home, re-wrote The Doctor’s Secret Bride, and published it in June 2012. I’m so happy for all those wonderful rejections from New York, and I haven’t regretted my decision to self-publish, not for a minute.

If anyone needs a bag of tricks, it’s me. LOL. I would say, make a writing schedule, carve out a specific time during the day or night to write, and stick with it. Tune out the rest of the world and don’t feel guilty about it, or else writing will remain a hobby and never materialize into a business. I’m trying to follow my own suggestions as I write this.

I like the alpha males in Harlequin Presents books. Some readers think them cruel, but I consider them strong, ambitious men, who know what they want, and who are not above threatening and blackmailing the heroines into pleasing situations for both of them. But I know if the heroines called their bluff, they’d back down—at least, that’s what mine do; then it would be a different kind of story.  I love feisty heroines who challenge the heroes—make them scratch their heads in wonder.  In the end, she always gets her man and brings him to his knees, one way or the other.

Listen to your heart, and don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t make it. I’ve heard that the difference between an unpublished and published author is perseverance. Never give up on your dreams, and surround yourselves with people who support you and who can help you realize your dreams. Walk away from the naysayers. Michelle from The Doctor's Secret Bride was a dreamer who never gave up, even when all hope seemed lost. She fought for what she wanted and landed a handsome, sexy billionaire in the process.

"You have to tell the truth!" Sound words from Jamaica Kincaid when I came face-to-face with her and asked her about some of the subject matter in her books.

Here is one of Jamaica Kincaid's truths: “An ugly thing, that is what you are when you become a tourist ... a piece of rubbish pausing here and there to gaze at this and taste that, and it will never occur to you that the people who inhabit the place in which you have just paused cannot stand you, that behind their closed doors they laugh at your strangeness …” Jamaica Kincaid in “A Small Place”

The Truth for me is listening to my characters and letting them write their stories, even if I sometimes disagree with them. I have found that the story-writing process goes a lot faster and easier if I write their truths. This advise resonates with me as I write Seduced by Passion because the heroine, Xiomara, is from African and Kalinago descent. The Kalinagos are one of the indigenous tribes who occupied the Caribbean Islands when Columbus and his gang invaded their space and all but annihilated them. I have created an indigenous group, modeled from the Kalinago, who live on the fictitious island of Akilina. They were able to keep the colonists at bay, and in doing so, preserved their culture and ways of life. And boy, do they have some TRUTHS to tell!

I’ve written a book in three months, but I think if I want a book to be great, I need about five to six months to fully develop the characters, and the strong emotions a lot of readers say they love in my stories.

Most definitely! I take myself, and my daughter out to a nice dinner. I often indulge in a nice bottle of wine and some chocolate, too.

Yes, I plan to write a young adult series and the first story will be Precious and Jason's journey to love while in college. I think that's fitting since Precious and Jason were the first principle children we met in the series. They're all grown up now and ready to talk. And they have a lot of opiniions, far removed from their parents'. I can't wait to write their story.

Actually, I have been toying with that idea. It would be nice to introduce some new blood to Granite Falls and have them occasionally bump into the Fabulous Four. Don't you think?