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Finding the right balance of details when describing my characters is a challenge. I have an image in my head of what they look like as I write, but conveying that to the reader without creating cardboard cutouts? That's the tricky part. Say too much and I risk blowing the reader's preconceived image. Each reader brings their own background and tastes to the table. The heroes and heroines in my head will look different than the ones in my reader's head. That's the beauty of fiction.

Sexual tension between two characters who go out of their way to deny it, the telling looks, the words unsaid, becomes a slow dance where they end up stepping on each other's toes. Or in Claire and Dillon's case (Iditarod Nights), their snow boots. Writing outdoor scenes that maintained sexual tension through the layers of cold-weather gear they had to wear to survive meant I relied heavily on facial expressions. My critique readers noticed the number of times I referred to glacier blue eyes, whiskey amber eyes, and Claire's unrelenting habit of tucking her hair behind her ear. I slashed half or more out before declaring the manuscript ready for publication. Readers will still see these references in the story, but not nearly to the extreme they once were!