Welcome to New Faces, where we welcome some of the newest authors writing romance. This week we're pleased to welcome Darlene Scalera, whose Harlequin American romance A MAN FOR MEGAN will be released any day. We think you'll enjoy meeting her!

Tell us about yourself.

After graduating from Syracuse University with a magna cum laude degree, I hadn't a clue what I wanted to do. I spent my twenties living everywhere from Denver to London and doing everything from factory work to public relations for a top state politician. Although I thought I was only overindulging my insatiable desire for what I called the 'three Es': experience, education and exposure, looking back now, I realize I'd unwittingly put into action Part One of the Writers' Apprenticeship Program--Accumulating Life.

Nearing thirty and still without answers, I returned for a visit to my birthplace in upstate New York. A week later, all the answers came when I met my husband-to-be, and I was finally and truly home. Today, I still live in this same picturesque hamlet with the man who provides all the answers. We've been blessed with two beautiful children: a son, J.J., ten; and a daughter, Ariana, seven. Our home also includes a Chinese box turtle, and the only maladjusted member of our family--an obsessive-compulsive hamster.

Are you coming to romance writing from another job?

At the time I'd stumbled onto romance writing, I had voluntarily left (okay, ran screaming joyously) from the job market to be a full-time mom to my first-born. At cocktail parties, I told fast-tracker friends, I was an independent "human developmental specialist".

What led you to write romance?

The transforming joy of having a child and being a full-time mom proved to me that your life's work could and must bring you happiness and fulfillment. I also knew whatever I chose in my continuing saga of "What will I be when I grow up?", it could not compete but must complement my primary role of mother and wife. I'd always enjoyed a natural writing talent and read voraciously, but had abandoned the idea of making a living as a writer because the non-fiction avenues of writing I'd participated in--ie. public relations, journalism, technical writing--were not the right vehicles for me.

However, one afternoon, while the baby was napping, I read a magazine article about series romance writing. About two months later, after researching the market, I sat down again during afternoon nap time and began to write. Three hours later, I had my first page--but it was a damn good page. I also had found my life's work. So began, and continues today, Part Two of the Writer's Apprenticeship Program--Learning the Craft.

Tell us about your road to publication.

When I wrote the above-mentioned first page, my son, J.J.. was nine months old. When I made my first sale, J.J.. was nine years old. I, that year, was fearing the fast approach of forty, and had finally decided it was time I grew up and got a 'real' job. I researched the job market, selected three practical and well-paying occupations and had even convinced myself fulfillment could be found in such things as cleaning people's teeth for $20 an hour. I was accepted to my programs of choice and scheduled an appointment with the college counseling staff to select my course curriculum for the coming semester. The day--the day--before my appointment, I got THE CALL. The appointment got canceled.

That first sale was my second submission to Harlequin American. My first submission had been rejected but drew the attention of the senior editor who asked to see future submissions and sent me several books to read that were working well for the line at the time. This was at the height of the category romance paranormal craze, and most of the books were from American's MORE THAN MEN series.

These readings were the catalyst for my romantic comedy about a cursed genie who lives in a crockpot and wreaks havoc in the life of the unsuspecting female factory worker who buys him at a garage sale. Of course, by the time I finished the book and submitted it, Harlequin American wasn't buying paranormal anymore due to lagging sales. Fortunately, however, my editor felt the book went beyond its paranormal elements to stand on its own as a strong, classic romance and proved it could be marketed as such. On that basis, she campaigned heavily for its acquisition. Revisions were made to meet readers' tastes, and ultimately, A MAN FOR MEGAN was born.

What kind of research was involved for your first book?

As mentioned above, A MAN FOR MEGAN was in direct response to market preferences and editorial recommendations. It is a necessary lesson every genre writer, especially the unpublished and unproved (in terms of readership and sales figures), needs to heed if they want to sell. Studying market trends and consciously using archetypal themes as a foundation for your stories doesn't negate creativity. On the contrary, learning the expectations of the genre, then learning to make those parameters your own through your own individual voice and vision is one of the most extraordinary aspects of the process and will guarantee exceptional work.

Who are your influences as a writer?

I read widely and across the board, finding inspiration everywhere and frequently frustration as well because there are just too, too many wonderful writers in romance and all other areas. I've always been naturally drawn to women writers who explore the issues I'm most concerned with: family, relationships, love, sensuality, and a woman's attempt to balance her own individual needs and desires with her innate role of caretaker. I'll read anything by such past masters as Anais Nin, Virginia Woolf, Ayn Rand, Isak Dinesen. More contemporary artists I enjoy and envy are Anne River Siddons, Anne Tyler, Alice Hoffman, Janet Evanovich and Lavryle Spencer. When I first focused on the category romance market, I studied the series books of Janet Dailey, Nora Roberts, Penny Jordan, Rebecca Winters, Rebecca Flanders and Barbara Bretton.

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

I don't know what's harder at times: being a writer or living with a writer. Fortunately, I've been blessed with a family that has supported and cheered me on from the beginning. My husband believed in me even before I believed in myself and has never stopped--even when I lament, "Why didn't I become a dental hygientist?" In this roller-coaster business, his love and support has been the unfailing constant that makes everything else seem superficial or surmountable. Of course, he just goes around telling everyone he's the inspiration for all my stories' sex scenes.

It was my children's reaction to my first sale, however, that stands out most in my mind. The afternoon I got The Call, I waited for them on the porch to come home from school so I could tell them my news. When they got off the bus and walked up to where I sat, I said, "I've got some wonderful news for you guys." They both started jumping up and down and screaming, "Our Beanie Babies came in! Our Beanie Babies came in!" (I had forgotten we were waiting for two specific hard-to-get Beanie Babies that we'd ordered from a local craft store.) Smiling my ever-patient mother's smile, I said, "No, Mommy sold a book. I'm going to be a published author." They looked at me, then looked at each other, then looked back at me and said, "You mean our Beanie Babies didn't come in?"

Tell us about plans for future books.

Since A MAN FOR MEGAN was contracted, I've sold two more books to Harlequin American. The first one, set in the waning opulence of Newport, Rhode Island, is the story of a shop clerk offered one million dollars to marry one brother and betray another. My most-recently contracted work-in-progress is the story of one of the world's most successful and young corporate CEOs who awakens from a head injury believing he's the cowboy of his childhood fantasies. Both books will be available in early 2000.

How can readers get in touch with you?

I'd love to hear from readers at PO Box 217, Niverville, NY 12130.

Thanks, Darlene, and best of luck with those future releases! Readers, check out our review of A MAN FOR MEGAN.

January 6, 1999