Anne Stuart: Sister Krissie the Impeccably Demure has a long and varied pedigree. I was born Anne Kristine Stuart and always went by my middle name, Krissie. When I was in my teens I made myself a nun's habit out of my best friend's curtains (shades of Scarlett O'Hara -- literally!) and wore it to rock concerts. Hence the "sister" part -- and because I believe that we're all sisters, even the men.  

The demure part came from a lovely man, who when he didn't know me, referred to me as a demure young lady. Needless to say, there isn't a demure bone in my body. So "The Demure One" doesn't really have a snowball's chance in hell with messing my muse while I'm writing things like RitualSins.
 

Crescent Blues: Your tattoos have become legendary too. Any chance you'd share with our readers the story behind them -- and the placement of the second one you tease about at convention presentations? 

Stuart [laughing]: I hate to tell you, but there are times when the legend outpaces the truth. Just one tattoo, on my shoulder in the shape of a butterfly (though I may get another eventually -- my sister has about seven).  

I got it the weekend of Woodstock. I lived for music, but I didn't want to go to Woodstock, because I'd heard there would be 50,000 people there (and there turned out to be anywhere from four to 10 times that amount!) So instead I got on the Long Island Railroad (the only time) and went out to Amityville, Long Island (home of the Amityville Horror) and got the tattoo. They sprayed my arm with alcohol in a Windex ™ bottle, then covered it up afterwards with a paper towel attached with masking tape. Lucky I don't have Hepatitis (it was too early for AIDS). 

I was 21, young and sassy. I had it touched up about five years ago when it was getting all faded. Lemme tell you, tattoos hurt a lot more at 45 than at 21. 

Crescent Blues: I suppose with a history like that it was inevitable that some bureaucracy would insist on co-opting you, if only because every organization needs someone to stir them up. Congratulations on being named Romance Writers of America (RWA) Published Authors Network (PAN) Liaison. What are some of your goals as PAN Liaison? 

Anne Stuart: I think they only voted for me because I could spell "liaison."  

Actually RWA has been a source of great joy for me over the years. Writing is a very solitary business and RWA has given me friends and community, so I thought it would be nice to give something back. 

I'm most interested in fostering sisterhood, in helping the newly published authors into the fold without passing judgment on what form they're published in, and strengthening the market, which helps everyone. My job is to look out for the published writers, which is of primary importance since the goal of every member of RWA is to be a published writer. Or at least I assume so. 

Crescent Blues: The definition of "published author" under the PAN guidelines has been a subject of some controversy lately. Many royalty-paying electronic publishers and their authors feel RWA guidelines discriminate against those published on-line. What is RWA's position on electronic publication? 

Anne Stuart: At this point writers who've been published by small presses (including e-publishers) are put in an associate member category. They're given full membership rights except the right to vote for PAN Liaison and the right to run for PAN Liaison, but that's mine anyway. If an electronic publisher sells 5,000 copies of one romance title, then the writers published with that publisher get upgraded to full membership. RWA's definition of a publisher is a royalty-paying press with national distribution (which e-pubs have) that's sold over 5,000 copies of a single romance title. 

However, there is an ad hoc committee looking into the possibility of eliminating the associate status and making everyone a general member, which I support. 

One small caveat. I'm not an official RWA spokesperson. I don't set policy, but I can say what I want as Princess of PAN.  

Crescent Blues: As a writer who's published very successfully for two decades, what do you feel are the keys to getting published and staying that way?

Anne Stuart: Actually I've been published for 25 years this month and the secret to staying alive is to love lots of things. If you only love time travels, then you're flat out of luck. I loved gothics but also adored Georgette Heyer. I was writing regencies when gothics finally died a final death. I'm very adaptable -- I can't write what someone tells me to write, but I can find something on my own that fills my needs and fits a publisher's.  

Flexibility and adaptability are crucial. But so is staying true to your heart. You can't chase around after fads -- my first agent wanted me to write family dramas like Helen Van Slyke, which was absurd. Lavyrle Spencer is a wonderful writer but I could no more write a Lavyrle book than I could… well, I was gonna say fly, but then I pretty much believe I could fly if I wanted to. I have delusions of grandeur. 

But I don't want to write a Lavyrle Spencer book. I want to write my own, and I'm good at figuring out ways to do it and trick the editors. I write romantic suspense, but they never call it that. They prefer fiction or romance or suspense on the spine, because romantic suspense is tricky to market. 

Crescent Blues: A number of your books, such as Prince of Magic and Prince of Swords, appear closely related in theme and form (i.e., two pairs of lovers, social barriers to the secondary romance, etc.). But in the last eight years at least, you have not published a typical romance series -- one which develops a cycle of romances from among a core group of relatives, friends or acquaintances. Any special reason? Is it something you'd like to consider for the future? 

Anne Stuart: I write the two-couple historicals because it gives me a satisfying balance. I can blend humor with darkness, and it pleases me and probably leavens what could be a rather heavy mixture for the reader. But I don't do connected series books -- they're all stand-alone. Some people do connected books brilliantly -- Jo Beverley and Ruth Wind come to mind. But quite often I don't like to read them. Main characters from one book show up as supporting characters in others, and if I haven't read the first book I feel like I'm at a party where everyone knows each other but me. 

I do small things, though. The hero of Cry for the Moon showed up as the disk jockey at the end of One More Valentine. The hero of A Rose at Midnight, my first historical, was the ancestor of the hero of Bewitching Hour. I do little things to amuse myself, like appear as a one-year-old in The Right Man or name a character after my favorite musician (Richard Thompson). 

Crescent Blues: Have you ever wanted to bring back one of your heroes or heroines for a sequel? 

Anne Stuart: I did bring the hero of Catspaw back for a sequel (Catspaw II). He was too delightful to leave. And I loved The Demon Count so much I did a sequel to that one -- I couldn't bear to leave Venice so soon. I also did a series of three books -- The Maggie Bennett series, for Dell -- which has the same heroine, but because of that I had to kill her first hero, and no one's ever forgiven me, including me. 

Crescent Blues: Are there any other genres, in addition to romance and suspense, you'd like to explore? 

Anne Stuart: I think I'd probably like to do futuristics at some point, but in fact, they'd probably be romantic suspense futuristics. I guess I just like sex and violence. (And rock-n-roll.) 

Crescent Blues: Your introduction to the novella "Dangerous Lover" in the 1999 Valentine anthology My Secret Admirer, let the cat out of the bag. You do model some of your heroes and heroines on actors, television characters and other cultural icons. Could you share with our readers the names of some of your other inspirations and the characters they "played?" 

Anne Stuart - Continued