Nicole Foster

She comes from the sun-kissed Southwest, where she grew up in a sprawling, gracious hacienda. The conversation and the lifestyle were genteel, an intellectual reflection of her educator parents.

She also comes from the gritty Midwest, from a constantly-changing hometown and household where dinner guests were likely to be murderers, drug offenders and parolees. Those guests provided a panorama of real-life characters that jump-started the imagination of a budding author.

She is Nicole Foster and she does not have a split personality. Then again, perhaps she does. Nicole Foster is the pen name of romance writing partners Danette Fertig-Thompson andAnnette Chartier.