I don't talk about it much, but I get a lot of grief about my books. Most of the time it comes from readers, who aren't sure where to find them in bookstores. Sometimes they are shelved in mainstream, other times romance or sci-fi/fantasy. I, for one, am grateful to be in a bookstore anywhere at all, but I understand how frustrating it can be.

The truth is, my books are a blend of genres. There is action-adventure, mystery, fantasy, suspense and romance. There are snobs out there in the world who love to say, "I don't read genre or romance books." It makes me laugh. You'd be hard pressed to find books on the top 10 fictions lists, that aren't genre books of some kind. So evidently someone is reading them.

I learned during my job as a journalist covering TV and Film, that mixing genres can make things more exciting. The first time I was really aware of this was with Joss Whedon's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." He was able to mix horror, comedy and drama, in such a clever way. I knew that if I ever decided to write fiction that I would want to do the same sort of thing.