Literary standouts Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer discuss gender theory, the combination of opposites, and what every guy should know about accessorizing. Read on …

MB: What or who inspired your novel?

BM: The idea of doing a book with a true male and female point of view was exciting. It was also a creative challenge for both of us to shift out of our traditional genres, thriller and romantic comedy, and write romantic adventure.

My previous books had pretty specialized audiences -- those who like thrillers and those who like "X-Files-type" conspiracy stories. "Don't Look Down" should appeal to pretty much everyone who reads fiction and especially to people who don't normally read but enjoy a fun story.

JC: My Ph.D research had focused on the theory that gender has an impact on storytelling, so I've been fascinated for a long time by the idea of a man telling the story of a male character and a woman telling the story of a female character in a single novel, particularly by what would happen when the two combined. In "Don't Look Down," I found out -- good, exciting things happen.

MB: What do you like most about your novel?

BM: The mixture of action, romance, humor with a little bit of sex thrown in. In my previous books if people had sex it was usually a prelude to one of them dying violently, but in "Don't Look Down," people actually have sex and live.

Writing it with Jennifer was an enlightening experience. Even though I've had 32 books published, I learned more co-authoring than I had in all my previous years writing on my own.

JC: I love the he wrote/she wrote mixture of male and female. It's the most balanced book I've ever done because there are two worldviews colliding in there, and when the worldviews (and the characters) clash, it really sparks the book as a whole. I learned so much on this book, about writing and about men, but mostly it was just fun.

MB: Who is the most heroic person you know?

JC: Any single parent who keeps her kids warm, fed, and safe while holding down a job and trying to survive herself. Or did you mean fictional hero? In that case, J.T. Wilder. I'd say he's the best hero I ever wrote except I didn't write him. Well, I wrote the part where he says, 'I love you' to Lucy. Bob was having trouble with that. He kept saying, 'Can't he just lose an arm for her or something? Does he have to SAY it?' Yes, Bob, he has to say it.

BM: Anyone who does the thing they are afraid of the most but want deep inside. Heroism in my opinion is acting positively in the face of fear. So that can range from a soldier who acts to save his or her buddies despite fear to a person who stands up and says something is wrong despite going against the masses and knowing it will have repercussions.

In fiction? The same type of characters. And losing an arm is 'saying it.' Actions speak louder than words. But sometimes, you just got to say it.

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

BM: The heroes in my thrillers have been lone-wolf action-adventure types. J.T. Wilder is a little bit lighter than most of my heroes, and he does have a good sense of humor.

But for me, shouldn't the question be who is my romance heroine? A woman who can make it on her own but enjoys making it with the hero. Wait, that didn't come out quite right.

JC: I've always tended toward snarky, verbal heroes, well-educated and often rich because I like my heroines getting it all. J.T. Wilder was a real change for me and I loved him.

I also love his best friend, Rene LaFavre who is larger than life and pretty much irresistible. I keep telling Bob we have to do a book about him. Bob keeps not listening. But I do like Bob's romance heroine definition. And I think it came out exactly right.

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

JC: Yes, I think I wrote a better book because I wrote it with a guy. Well, with Bob Mayer specifically. The project became such a combination of opposites, Bob pushed me in directions I normally wouldn't have gone, and it revitalized my writing. He's such a good writer, and he knows worlds I'd never have known if his characters hadn't taken me there. And Bob learned, too. Now he knows about shoes.

MB: And the question you wish an interviewer would ask, Bob?

BM: No, I didn't do it. Well, I'll never admit doing it. Anyway, shoes should match the belt. I'm still having problems with that. Seriously, we think "Don't Look Down" is the first of a long line of she wrote/he wrote romantic adventure novels we'll do that will be a hell of a lot of fun to read.