Welcome to our New Faces column, wehre you can meet debut authors in the romance genre. Chris Gavaler's first romantic suspense, Pretend I'm Not Here, is available from HarperCollins.

Chris, welcome to TRR! Tell us about yourself.

I grew up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, then spent a decade in New Jersey getting educated, married and whatnot. My Yankee family and I now find ourselves living in Lexington, VA, the burial place of the Confederacy. It's a great small town, with a surreal number of lawyers and painters. I was a little startled when my toddler started saying "bye" with a Southern accent.

Are you coming to romance writing from another job?

This is my third career, if you count the two confused years I spent in theater administration right after college (I worked for Olympia Dukakis during her cousin Michael's Presidential campaign). After going back to Rutgers for a Masters in Education, I taught high school English for a decade (with heavy, heavy doses of creative writing). Teaching is a fantastic, all-consuming job which I both miss and don't miss. My "other" job is taking care of my kids in the afternoon (I write in the mornings).

What led you to write a romantic suspense?

I didn't set out to meet the conventions of a romantic suspense novel. I wrote what intrigued and entertained me. I have fun when I write. The fact that Pretend I'm Not Here turned out to be a romantic thriller is a kind of accident. While writing it, I simply thought of it as a novel, one I wanted to be as enjoyable for readers as it was for me. That's my only real criterion.

Tell us about your road to publication.

Getting published requires any two of three things: talent, luck and contacts. I had nothing in the last category, so I added perseverance to the mix. I wrote seven novels in seven years, amassing literally hundreds of rejection letters before landing my first agent. Knowing a well-connected author or having a friend in a publishing house would have been easier, but the hard work made me a better writer.

What kind of research was involved for your first book?

Pretend I'm Not Here is set in the Virgin Islands where I honeymooned about ten years ago. Researching meant rereading my honeymoon journal and all the sentimental guide books still lining my book shelves. The main character is a chaperone for a TV dating game, so I also sat in front of my TV with a remote, studying videotaped episodes. Thinking like a chaperone was easy - I've served in that capacity at enough high school events to know the flirtation rituals of young adults.

Who are your influences as a writer?

I hate to confess this, but I don't read much in my own genres. I fear it would lead me too much toward imitation. On the other hand, the vast majority of literature could be categorized as romances and mysteries. It all influences me. When it comes to specific authors, I learned most of what I know about psychological suspense from Henry James and Charlotte Perkins Gillman. And we're all indebted to Jane Austen for formulating the romance plot as we know it.

(Egad!! I just reread that paragraph, and I sound like a stodgy old English teacher. I take it all back-my influences are Suzanne Vega, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and every stand-up comic I've seen on Comedy Central.)

What does your family think of having a romance author in their midst?

My daughter says when she grows up she's going to "work on the computer," too. She likes to type random words and letters and then print out her own "novels." I got my toddler his own keyboard because he was so jealous of mine. Sometimes he sits on my lap and we both punch away at the keys together.

Tell us about plans for future books.

My second romantic thriller introduces another unlikely heroine, a special effects make-up artist at a low budget horror movie company. When the TV actor she's had a crush on since high school signs up for a production, it looks like her romantic fantasies are coming true. But then she learns he's only there to dodge the thugs collecting his ex-wife's gambling debts and to ask her the favor of a lifetime. He wants her to help him fake his death.

I just finished the first revision (the biggest hurdle). You should expect it in July 2003.

How can readers get in touch with you?

My e-mail address is chris@gavaler.com and my website is http://chrisgavaler.com. Don't be shy. Writers love to hear from readers. If you prefer the U.S. postal service, I 'm at 202 Myers Street, Lexington, VA 24450. Look forward to hearing from you.

Chris, thank you for joining us, and best of luck! Readers, we have a review of Pretend I'm Not Here on our site.

September 15, 2002