Darlene GrahamDarlene Graham, who won the Oklahoma Writers' Federation prestigious Teepee Award for Best Fiction Book of 1999, says that having witnessed birth, death and "everything in between" helps her put realistic emotions into her novels. Graham practiced asa registered nurse in Labor and Delivery and then Oncology for 20 years before she decided to translate all that real-life drama into romantic suspense fiction.

"Even though I write uplifting, even humorous romance," the mother of three says, "I'm also not afraid to deal with real issues, with real pain. I've been known to sit at my computer and shed a few tears while I write."

Graham's first book, It Happened in Texas, was released as a Guaranteed Page Turner by Harlequin Superromance, and she says that since that book sold, her writing life has felt "like popcorn popping."

"Something new and exciting happens almost every day."

It Happened In Texas won third place in the Rising Star contest for Best First Book and has since been published in Japan, France, Switzerland and Belgium. The Pull Of The Moon, her book that won the Teepee Award, was also a finalist for the Golden Heart Award from Romance Writers of America. The novel features hero Matthew Creed, a firefighter dealing with the aftereffects of being a rescuer at the Murrah bombing in Oklahoma City.

"I was privileged to serve as a volunteer at the Murrah building, and after seeing the rescuers up close, I knew I wanted to honor those real-life heroes with a story. The reader mail I've received about The Pull of the Moon has been very gratifying."

Besides featuring realistic characters, Graham says she also loves to transport readers to vivid settings. For example, her Harlequin Superromance novel Under Montana Skies is set in the remote Kootenai National Forest, and This Child of Mine takes place in Alexandria, Virginia, and nearby Washington, D.C. "I made several trips to those places and immersed myself in order to get a strong sense of place. As a result, the stories just poured out."

Graham says that she never runs out of material, and often gets her plot ideas by pure serendipity.

Graham shares this story of dining with the governor's wife as an example of how new stories come to her. "After she and her daughter read The Pull of the Moon, the First Lady of Oklahoma invited me to the Governor's mansion for lunch. Mrs. Keating loves history, and while we were discussing a fascinating old church in Pawhuska, something she said sparked another suspense, set in the Osage Hills."

Says Graham, "I feel like I'm just getting started and I don't think I'll ever get tired of writing. Writing is my dream. How many people get to actually live their dreams every single day? For me, there's no turning back."

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