The Maverick Preacher

Victoria has a confession to make. She was driven to write romance by giant bugs and killer rabbits."I just couldn't take it anymore," she says. "My husband and sons would be camped in front of the television watching a movie about spiders the size of bowling balls, and I'd be wondering when the handsome scientist would get around to kissing the spunky woman with the bug spray. When it didn't happen, I decided to write my own happy endings — without the giant bugs."Victoria made that decision in January 1999 after a cross-country move from California, where she's ridden out earthquakes, to Virginia, where she and her family enjoy the history of Washington D.C."That move was difficult because it brought me face-to-face with regret," says Victoria. "My husband and I both wish we had taken the kids to Yosemite or made another trip to Baja, but his career changed quickly and there wasn't time. As we made the long drive, I decided I didn't want any more empty dreams in my life."For Victoria, that meant writing a book. As soon as she finished unpacking over a hundred cardboard boxes, she sat at her computer and wrote a sentence she considers to be the "worst beginning ever." That manuscript is in a dusty box under the bed, but her second effort turned into Of Men and Angels, and she hasn't looked back. Writing takes up most of Victoria's free time, but she still enjoys an occasional giant-bug movie with her husband and two teenage sons. She's also "mom" to an elderly Chihuahua-corgi who barks too much. She enjoys hearing from readers. Email her at VictoriaBylin@aol.com.