Do you only write horror?

I also write paranormal romance (from Silhouette, Ellora's Cave, and Amber Quill), which I consider a natural extension of my love for horror and fantasy, and I've written some straight fantasy, such as two books in collaboration with my husband, Wild Sorceress and Besieged Adept.

In December, Amber Quill is going to publish Besieged Adept, a fantasy novel my husband and I wrote in collaboration. Actually, the initial idea and most of the raw work were his. He's starting the third book in that series now. My most recent publications, other than "Foxfire" (mentioned below), were a vampire romance, Embracing Darkness (Silhouette, March 2005), and a reformed demon romance novelette in Ellora's Cavemen: Legendary Tails II (Ellora's Cave, June 2005). I have an elf-human romance under consideration with a publisher now.

I've had a lot of nonfiction published about the supernatural in literature, especially vampires, most recently Different Blood: The Vampire As Alien (Amber Quill). My books that are closer to “pure” horror include two vampire novels, Dark Changeling and Child Of Twilight (its sequel), from Hard Shell Word Factory and From The Dark Places (somewhat Lovecraftian) and Shadow Of The Beast (a werewolf novel) from Amber Quill.

Can you tell us a little about your collaboration process with your husband?

We once sold a story to Marion Zimmer Bradley in which he suggested the plot premise, and I elaborated it and wrote the text with his input. For the "Wild Sorceress" series, however, the plot premise and characters completely originated with him. We discuss the plotlines together and brainstorm about potential problems or disagreements. He does all the first-draft writing, which I like because writing in that "raw" stage is hard for me. Then I edit each scene as it is produced, often several times before the whole book comes together. The byline includes both of our names. He has a science fiction vampire story, "Vanishing Breed," written in 1970 and still in print in one anthology, that helped to inspire my vampire series. Information on his biography and work can be found on my website under the link "Co-Author Leslie Roy Carter."

Do you ever get scared while you write your stories?

No, partly because, after all, the characters and situations are my own creations, and in large part because I've been reading and writing about "monsters" for so long that I find them cozy and friendly more than scary. The last book that gave me a genuine scare was Stephen King's Pet Sematary, which I still consider one of his best.