Harlequin Author Interview

Hello, readers! My name is Sharon Kendrick, and I write fast-paced and emotional love stories for Harlequin.

It felt like a dream come true when I became an author for Harlequin because I wrote the story of my heart and they published it without a single change.

I've always loved writing. I started making up stories and plays when I was very young, and all the way through school, my teachers used to read my essays to the class.

My favorite authors are the ones who have affected me most profoundly and at an impressionable age, so I love C. S. Lewis, who created the magical world of Narnia. I also love Enid Blyton - though not many people would dare admit to that! Evelyn Waugh and George Orwell are also unbeatable, and so is Agatha Christie. I enjoy dystopian novels and the work of Kazuo Ishiguro.

This is an almost impossible question to answer, but I would have to say The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis.

Most authors will say they like the book which their editor has just accepted! But some stories have a special place in my heart, especially if they struck a chord with readers. I love Surrender to the Sheikh because it was my first sheikh book, and I was able to create the wonderful world of Maraban.

I get my inspiration everywhere. Every walk I take, every ocean I see, each conversation I have and person I watch (unseen!) can provide that elusive spark for a story I may be writing, or a story which is a nothing but a distant dream...

Choosing characters' names is the fun part! Sometimes I meet someone with an interesting name, and I'll use it. Often, I'll look in a baby book. The name's meaning is very important to me. Yet sometimes the name is right but doesn't fit the story, and so I have to change it. Surnames I acquire by stabbing my finger randomly at the nearest newspaper!

I am currently reading my latest manga - a story about a racing driver with a risqué past and a young woman determined to defy everybody's low expectations of her and become a doctor. I have to say that I love the unique art form which is manga - it's amazing the way the characters are brought to life through the brilliant drawings. As a writer, I so admire the graphic skills of the artists.

I write four books a year.

Read lots. Be able to describe the essential plot of your book in a single sentence (they call this the "elevator pitch"), because this will focus you on the main conflict of the story. Write every day - don't wait for "inspiration" or you'll be waiting forever. Write from the heart and say what you want to say because it's your story. And never give up.

One of the great things about being an author is that there's no such thing as an "average" day - but every day will involve writing, exercise and inspiration in its many forms.

I love travelling, foreign films, delicious food and early mornings. I like seeing flowers growing and listening to the pound of the ocean. I'm currently learning Italian (again!), and I could happily spend every spare moment doing pottery (but that wouldn't get my books written).

I have a gorgeous writing room which overlooks the treetops and has an orange velvet chaise longue and some lovely framed prints by Bob Dylan (who is a fantastic artist). But when I'm on an urgent deadline, anywhere that gives me some peace and quiet is the perfect place to write.