I read Mary Jo Putney long before I met her. I had one of those fan-girl moments when I finally did get to meet her. After all, here was the author of The Rake! And it was with great joy that I discovered that besides being a fabulous writer, she was also a gracious and lovely lady. So it is with great joy that I share with you Five Things About Mary Jo Putney.

1. Where is the most beautiful/romantic place you’ve ever been? It’s hard to beat the Virgin Islands—turquoise waters and silver sand and jagged volcanic islands scattered in all directions. We’ve stayed in the British Virgins again and again. Paradise. But there are so many other beautiful/romantic places! New Zealand, South Africa, Scotland, Tuscany, the Dalmatian Coast….I’ll stop now.

2. Do you celebrate when you finish a book and what you do? Usually I collapse and sleep for a while, because I’m always frantic and bang up against (or over!) a deadline. Then the Mayhem Consultant will take me to a really nice B&B for a quiet getaway. When I finished No Longer a Gentleman, we want to a lovely place right on the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and could look out from the balcony and see freighters and tugs and other boats go by. Very relaxing!

3. What new authors have you recently added to your TBR pile? Sophia Page, a new pseudonym for Harlequin author Sophia Weston.  As Sophia Page, she wrote a wonderful book that came out a few months ago called To Marry a Prince, which was a smart, funny story about a commoner girl marrying the Prince of Wales. Not Kate and William, but it did give entertaining insights into what such a romance would be like. I think she has another book coming, and I’m looking forward to it.

4. If you could go on a date with any superhero, who would you choose and why? Wolverine from the X-Men, but ONLY if played by Hugh Jackman!

5. If you were not writing, what job would you have? I was a graphic designer for many years, but the business had computerized so much I’m no longer hireable. In fact, I’m pretty much unemployable at anything but writing. If I had to find a new career—I like houses. Maybe real estate. Except that I’m not great with contracts and would probably make terrible mistakes and become unemployed again really rapidly.

Mary Jo’s classic 5 star and RITA winning book, The Rake, with its alcoholic hero was recently reissued!!! Huzzah!! No Longer a Gentleman, the fourth in her Lost Lords series, will be released April 24th and received a coveted starred review from Publishers Weekly! Learn more about Mary Jo and her wonderful Regency books at http://www.maryjoputney.com/.