In this week's AuthorView, award-winning writer Julie Anne Long acknowledges hidden desires, shares some chocolate, and answers the burning question: Who's the sexiest violinist on the planet?

MB:What or who inspired your novel?

JAL:Hmmm … I think the idea for "To Love a Thief" sprang, in a way, from a character in my first novel, "The Runaway Duke." Cordelia, Duke's "villainess." She wasn't a bad person, necessarily -- but she certainly justified doing bad things in the name of survival. I'm intrigued by shades of gray, and so I wondered: what would make an essentially good person -- say, Lily Masters from "To Love a Thief" -- choose to do something most of us consider "bad" -- for instance, steal?

I was mulling that, and the character of Lily Masters, a scrappy pickpocket from St. Giles with a little sister, sort of popped fully formed into my head. As for Gideon Cole ... well, we've all known people who've committed their lives to pursuing what they think they want, or what they think they should want... and I liked the idea of bringing a relentlessly ambitious man (Gideon) face to face with his truest self and his own deepest, barely-acknowledged desires -- which of course have nothing to do with his ambitions, and everything to do with Lily -- and forcing him to deal with them.

MB:What do you like most about your novel?

JAL:That it's finished. Kidding! Just kidding! Actually, I'm fond of the third word on page 27 …

OK, seriously: What I like most about my novel is hearing from readers about what they liked most about it (although I am sort of partial to the bit about the eye on page 102 of "To Love a Thief" -- I'll admit to cracking myself up with that one). Because for me, writing a book is a sort of "forest for the trees" exercise -- it's difficult for me to get any broad perspective on it while I'm proceeding through it to completion.

I try very hard to create unique stories populated by memorable, moving, funny characters who are good and selfish all at once, who have tempers and ambitions and passions and tender hearts and enormous blind spots, just like real people. But I never really know whether or not I've succeeded until I hear from readers -- and experiencing To Love a Thief through the eyes of readers has so far been wonderfully surprising and touching. I figure, I guess, that if I've inspired actual emotions in someone -- in other words, made someone laugh, sigh and cry in the space of a book -- well, then, I've done my job. People seem to be responding to "To Love a Thief" that way, and I'm thrilled.

MB: Tell us about the most heroic person you know.

JAL:Well … you know, I thought about this, and I realized that just about everyone I know has been heroic in some capacity. That is, I think heroism takes different forms, and what constitutes heroism varies from person to person. For instance, there's the running-into-a-burning-building-to-rescue-someone kind (I'm not personally acquainted with anyone who's done that, mind you). But there's a quieter kind of heroism, too.

It might involve taking a risk that scares you but which might change your life for the better, like leaving a difficult relationship, or traveling to a distant country by yourself, or adopting a baby, or, for that matter … sending your novel manuscript off to an agent for the first time. Or maybe it involves caring for a seriously ill loved one or gracefully coping with a personal illness or standing up for what you believe is right in the face of extreme opposition. In short, I know simply dozens of heroes and heroines, people I admire and who inspire me daily.

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

JAL: I think all truly interesting men have a streak of rogue in them…or at least they like to think they do, bless their little hearts. My favorite heroes, quite truthfully, are entirely human -- they might be barristers or dukes or war heroes, but they all have essentially good hearts and a host of believable flaws. For instance, they occasionally lie, or get sloppy drunk, or struggle with their feelings -- they're typical guys, in other words. Because for me, a big part of the pleasure in reading a romance is falling in love with the hero, and the hero seems much more accessible if he seems … well, real.

Oh, and he must be hot. Whether he's classically "handsome" or not, we must -- we absolutely must -- want him.

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

JAL:Q: Who's your dream date, Julie?

A: Funny you should ask, Michelle! Gosh, I wouldn't hang up on (San Francisco mayor) Gavin Newsom if he called. Or (violinist) Joshua Bell, for that matter. Or --

Ahem. OK, this question stumped me. Hmmm … I guess I could pretend we're on a talk show:

"I'm so glad you asked about my next book, Michelle! "Beauty and the Spy" will be out in March of next year. The first book in a Regency-set trilogy for Warner Forever, it's the story of a spy, Kit Whitelaw, who needs to untangle a mystery in order to save the life of a murdered comrade's beautiful daughter. It's available for preorder now on Amazon!"

Seriously … I actually kind of like being surprised by questions. I enjoy mulling things I might not have considered otherwise. There's never been anything in particular that I've longed to be asked, truthfully, though of course I'll probably think of something the minute I'm finished with this interview.

How about this: If anybody has a question, feel free to send it to me at Julie@julieannelong.com! I'll do my best to answer it.