Please welcome romance author, Drue Allen.  Her new book The Cost of Love is now available on Kindle, as well as print.

What parts of you and your background feed your imagination? My father (WWII vet), my education (MA in English), and my obsession with the news—probably in that order!

Tell us a little about the very first story you remember writing? My first full manuscript was a YA story about terrorists who flew a plane into some cell phone towers, which then hit a high school. We were living in a suburb of Dallas at the time, and I was teaching at a school where we actually had evacuation plans in case one of the cell phone towers should fall on the school. The odds were slim-to-none, but we were prepared. That was all it took to start the story in my mind.

Creative people are often creative in other ways, besides writing what else does the muse encourage you to do? I’ve played the piano since I was 10. It relaxes me and helps me to “balance” my brain (some might argue with that). I also do various types of needlework, garden, hike, kayak . . . wait, are all of those things creative?

What genre(s) do you like to write? The Cost of Love is what I call a romantic thriller, but I honestly believe I could write any genre, and my agent is currently submitting for me historical romance, straight historical, and categories among others.

Tell us a little about your novel, its plot and the main character(s). It’s set in Roswell, NM, which I think is such a fun, fun place. We have so much history there as a nation. The opening scene is at White Sands Missile Base, and I so much enjoyed researching the work done there. The basic structure of the plot is a domestic biological terrorist who is testing a weapon before mass release over a metropolitan area, but the more fascinating part to me are the two main characters—Dean and Lucy. Dean is a burned out government agent who thinks he’s seen it all, and Lucy is a young, Hispanic, bio-molecular scientist who is brand new to the field.

Are any of the characters like you and if so in what way? Hmmm. I like to think I’m both of them! I have some of Dean’s cynicism, but there’s part of me that insists on holding on to Lucy’s optimism.

What genre(s) or author(s) do you like to read? I read everything, and I do mean every thing. People who see me carrying books into the post office to read as I wait in line ask me, “How do you find time to read?” I always think, “How do you not find time to read?” I enjoy authors from the most popular (Stephen King and Dean Koontz) to brand new authors who have a first book out like myself. And I’ll admit to liking a good romance as well.

Where and when do you find the best ideas or inspiration for your stories? Two places—the news and people around me.

If there was a message you could share with other writers what would it be? Be stubborn. It does usually take years, and it takes refining your craft.

Where can readers go to learn more about you and your work? www.DrueAllen.com and http://drueallen.blogspot.com/.   And thanks so much for having me!