What started as a quiet form of rebellion at a conservative Methodist seminary
evolved into a home in Rhododendron next to a volcano.

Tiffany Reisz is an internationally bestselling author. If she couldn’t write, she
would die, according to Lisa Wray from Reisz’s publishing company
Harlequin/Harper Collins.

Reisz and her husband Andrew Shaffer – also a writer – moved to the
Mountain last year, migrating from Kentucky, following a visit in 2014 where
she fell in love with the Mount Hood area.

“The beauty is unbelievable,” Reisz told The Mountain Times. “I can sit in the
guest room upstairs and watch the sun set on a billion trees and the colors
change a hundred times in a few minutes. It’s glorious. And there’s something
a little unnerving about living on a volcano ... I mean how many people can
say they live on a volcano?”

Harlequin is rolling out three new Reisz novels with “Her Halloween Treat”
going on sale in September, “Her Naughty Holiday” hitting the stands in
October, and “One Hot December” on sale in November. All three novels are
set in Oregon.

“This series was inspired by house hunting out here on the Mountain,” Reisz
said. “So many gorgeous cabins and cute guys in flannel – a great romantic
combination.”

Reisz was bitten by the writing bug at an early age.

“I started writing as a kid ... and from seventh grade I was writing all the
time,” she said. “Scripts for my favorite TV shows, bad love poems,
everything. It was just the weird kid thing I did ... I’m not sure I ever had a
moment when I said ‘I’m going to be a writer.’ I didn’t need that moment
since I was already writing all the time.”

Her first published novel was “The Siren” and by her own admission “It’s a
very naughty book. The story behind it is that I was a well-behaved student at
a conservative Methodist seminary and writing a naughty book was a very
quiet form of rebellion,” she said. “Very soon writing took over my life and
became much more important than seminary. I quit school to pursue writing
novels. It’s worked out so far. No complaints.”

Reisz’s favorite writer is her husband who recently hit the New York Times
bestseller list. “Plus, he has a fabulous wife,” she said. She is also a big fan of
Anne Rice, Jennifer Egan, Elizabeth Knox and PG Wodehouse, while Robert
Penn Warren’s “All the King’s Men” is her favorite novel.

Reisz captured the prestigious RITA last year – the highest award given in
romance fiction – for “The Saint.” But she doesn’t categorize herself
completely within the romance fiction genre. Her latest release “The Bourbon
Thief” she describes as mainstream women’s fiction. Her favorite description
of the three upcoming holiday releases: “literary friction.”

She is quick to offer advice to budding writers.

“Write all the time,” she said. “Write your guts out. Write, write, write.”

It seems that the Rhododendron author has followed her own advice. And as
well as being an avid writer, she’s also a very discerning reader:
“Thanks for having me,” she said. “We love The Mountain Times. We always
read it.”

To learn more, visit www.tiffanyreisz.com.