MB:What or who inspired your novel?

SD:My own long struggle with weight and fitness motivated me to write "He Loves Lucy." After losing a lot of weight the hard way -- eating right and sweating my patootie off in the gym with a personal trainer -- I thought to myself, "Hey! I wonder how many overweight women fall madly in love with their buff-body trainers?" Of course, my buff- body trainer was a very nice married mother of two named Revonda, so I didn't have that experience in real life. My books are fantasy, you know. But that's how I got the idea.

MB:What do you like most about your novel?

SD: I am proud of the way I was able to use a light touch to write about a serious subject -- how women can hide feelings behind extra weight. My heroine, Lucy Cunningham, has issues. (That's an understatement). But she is also bitingly funny, loving and sweet, and determined to succeed.

Through the story of Lucy and her trainer-turned-lover Theo Redmond, I think I was able to give readers a juicy romance and a funny romp all in one book. It's been gravy that so many readers tell me the book inspired them to pay more attention to their own health. Maybe gravy wasn't the right choice of words. But the idea that I somehow wrote a book that is romantic, funny and inspiring all at the same times makes me smile.

MB:Tell us about the most heroic person you know.

SD:That question made me sit back a few minutes and really think. It's a good question. I am honored to know many people who have acted heroic when life called for heroism. My mother raised my brother and I alone after my father left, and that required small acts of heroism and self-sacrifice every day for many years.

Some of my dearest friends are heroes in my eyes -- my friend Suzie worked a long time as a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa, and my friend Arleen works behind the scenes nurturing others in her church and in our community, including our town's underprivileged children. My husband, John, is a hero in my opinion. As a primary care doctor, I've witnessed his dedication to his patients every single day for 13 years. He still makes house calls, driving his Jeep up the mountain to visit elderly patients who can't make it to the office.

Sure, I sometimes complain that he works too much, but I am proud of everything he does. Plus, he's a wonderful father to our kids, manages to put up with me after 16 years of marriage, and can still make me laugh. It doesn't get much better than that.

MB:Who's your romantic hero: Dark brooding bad boy or white knight in shining armor?

SD:A little of both, of course! My fantasy hero is an Alpha bad boy with an inner white knight just waiting to be unleashed. (And only one woman can do the unleashing -- me! No. Sorry. I meant to say only my romantic heroine can do the unleashing. My mistake.) Don't we all want that? Anyway, one of the reasons I love writing romances is that I get to give my heroines what every woman deserves -- one hell of a good man.

MB:Answer the question you wish an interviewer would ask.

SD:My answer is, "Yes, but only after a couple of margaritas."

--Check back each week for a new AuthorView interview.