What, When, Where, Why, How with Maggie Toussaint

Give a big blog welcome to today's visitor: Author Maggie Toussaint!

What character would you pick to model your hero: Captain Kirk or Spock and why?

Great question! Captain Kirk, natch. He has charisma in spades, thinks on his feet, delegates the boring stuff, and radiates sex appeal. Captain Kirk could slip right into the shoes of Devlin Temple in NO SECOND CHANCE. They’re birds of a feather.

Where would you keep a pet rhinoceros?

I’d put it out back, in my mother’s yard. This would benefit us both. It would drive the neighbor’s always-barking dogs crazy. When the rhino had enough and charged through the fence, the dogs would get their comeuppance. Of course, Hope Farrier of NO SECOND CHANCE would want me to put the rhino in her lower pasture, but I’m not sure how rhinos and horses get along.

When would it be appropriate for a hero to have the compulsion to sing top 40 songs in lieu of conversation to the heroine?

When he want to tap dance around the issue of where their relationship is going. Naturally he’s crazy about her, but he can’t admit it until she says the magic words, or joins him in song. She’s baffled by his sudden musicality, can’t sing a note, and prompts him to sing even more. Both my heroes, Jake Sutherland and Devlin Temple tap danced a bit around their feelings, but neither of them broke into song. IF they’d thought about singing, Jake would have sung classic rock lyrics and Devlin would be a show-tunes singer.

Why is vanilla ice cream white when vanilla extract is brown?

A little vanilla goes a long way. Some vanilla ice cream is spotted instead of creamy due to the use of chopped up vanilla beans. My brainy heroine in HOUSE OF LIES, Hannah Montgomery, told me so.

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie-Roll pop?

None! One chomp and you’re there. This was confided by my very direct hero in HOUSE OF LIES, Jake Sutherland. He gets right to the heart of every matter.

A scientist by training, a romanticist at heart, Maggie Toussaint loves to solve puzzles. Whether it’s the puzzle of a relationship or a who-dun-it, she tackles them all with equal aplomb and wonder. Maggie’s cozy mystery from Five Star, IN FOR A PENNY, is about a terrible golfer trying to save her best friend from a murder rap. Her three other published works are romantic suspense books, one of which won Best Romantic Suspense in the 2007 National Readers Choice Awards. Her day jobs include freelancing for a weekly paper and leading a yoga class.

Visit her at www.maggietoussaint.com.