New York Times bestselling author Brenda Joyce talks about out-of-the-blue inspiration, making dreams come true, and the husband we can all call hero. Read on …

MB: What or who inspired your novel?

BJ: This is the question I am always asked and find it so difficult to answer. The stock answer is my muse. I am struck with inspiration out of the blue -- always. I am currently writing about two families joined in marriage in Regency Ireland and England. For "The Masquerade," it was time to get to Tyrell de Warenne's story -- and he is heir to the earldom of Adare, and my muse led me to his least likely match -- an impoverished, somewhat plain, somewhat plump Irishwoman who has been in love with him for years. Once I knew Lizzie was his great love, the story took off.

MB: What do you like most about your novel?

BJ: It is a classic Cinderella story with so many warm, wonderful elements -- Lizzie has loved him forever and he is so far above her, it is only a dream -- yet her dream comes true. And she has that clichéd but entertaining Regency family, the bad sister, the eccentric sister, the marriage-mad Mama, the benevolent Papa. "The Masquerade" was a joy to write.

MB: Who is the most heroic person you know?

BJ: The most heroic person I personally know is my husband. He is Israeli and in the ‘80s he was commander of an anti-terrorist unit in Lebanon. He himself led his men into villages looking for terrorists who disguised themselves as the local population. Men have died in his arms.

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

BJ: My hero is the current hero I am writing -- 90 percent of the time they have a dark, anguished, tortured side. Once in a while, I do a hero who is a true knight in shining armor, a great protector and champion.

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

BJ: What is it like to be an author? It is waking up every day, finishing your coffee and sitting down and voila -- time travel. Once I begin to type, I vanish into another world and I become my other characters! If I am writing from the hero's point of view, I am Tyrell de Warenne. It is beyond intense! I live every scene and every dialogue. But I don't have to sit down at my laptop either to time-travel and shape-shift --I have been in Regency Ireland living scenes from "The Stolen Bride" (October 2006) when suddenly horns are honking and cars are whipping by on the right and I realize I am at a stop light, not in another world! This is a world I yearn for, dream of and cannot help but create, time and again -- what a wonderful job!