Interview with Julie Leto - Excerpted from the back of DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS

When I Google your name, I came up with someone named Julie Elizabeth Leto...is that you?

Yes, it is. Julie Elizabeth Leto is my full maiden name, which I used when I started writing romances for Harlequin in 1998. I still use that name for my romance novels, but I decided to drop the Elizabeth for Marisela’s books for several reasons. One, Julie Elizabeth Leto is so long! My hand cramps at booksignings. Two, my complete maiden name makes me feel like I’m in trouble for not cleaning my room or something. Three, with a shorter name, it can be bigger on the cover. All kidding aside, I thought I should differentiate for my readers between my romances and my mainstream action-adventure, so I did so simply by dropping my middle name.

The heroine of this book is Latina, are you?

Yes, I’m one-quarter Latina thanks to my paternal grandmother, Velia Gonzalez, whose family was from Cuba and Spain. She encountered a lot of discrimination because of her ethnicity even though she was born and raised (like me) in Tampa, which is a very Hispanic-friendly town. Probably didn’t help that she married into an Italian family. But since her family came to the United States before the turn of the last century (during the Spanish-American War), she considered herself entirely American. Because of this, the Cuban side of my roots was often ignored. This book gave me a chance to delve back into the culture I experienced mainly through my best friends growing up, who were all Latina. This gives me a chance to send special thanks to Denise Espinola, Lynn Saavedra, Marissa Cosio and Yvette Castillo, among many, many others, who invited me into their homes on countless sleepovers and pajama parties. I also lived in a very Hispanic neighborhood growing up, so the culture was always around me, as well as the Italian-American culture that my mother’s side (and half of my father’s) brought into the mix.

So you don’t have any Cuban traditions left in your family?

Oh, yes we do! Luckily for me, most of them are about food. My uncle married a Latina, my Tia Anita, who if I remember correctly, was the one to inspire our fabulous Noche Buena celebration, which is a Cuban Christmas Eve. Since Tampa is a city that embraces the Cuban, Spanish and Italian roots, it’s easy for us to serve roast pork, black beans and rice, platanos and flan on that holiday. Of course, on Christmas day, it’s manicotti, Italian sausage and cassata. Best of both worlds. Tia also speaks Spanish and taught Spanish for many years in junior high. She made sure the grammar and syntax in this book is right, that’s for sure!

How did you come up with the idea for Marisela’s book?

Over the years, I’ve become known for writing very strong heroines. I think this was my forte and I knew it was just a matter of time before I wrote a truly heroine-central book, especially with the increasing popularity of chick-lit and women’s fiction. Romance novels tend to split their attention fifty-fifty between the man and the woman, but I knew that writing a mainstream book would give me a chance to focus even more on my heroine and her journey. I’m also a trend-watcher and I wasn’t blind to the fact that Latina experiences were gaining attention thanks to actresses like Penelope Cruz and Jennifer Lopez and authors like Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez. The chance to explore that ignored part of my heritage really excited me, so I came up with the idea for Marisela. She definitely solidified in my mind long before the plot did, which isn’t usually how things work for me. And of course, I wanted to make her really kick-ass. She never fails to entertain me with her tough chica attitude. I have a feeling we’ll enjoy each other’s company for quite some time.

Is this book the start of a new series?

I’m so excited to answer yes! I’m writing DIRTY LITTLE LIES (tentative title) right now. The book will once again put Marisela in the position of having to make a hard moral choice, which is diametrically opposed to the choice that will help her succeed in her mission. I don’t want this spy stuff to be easy! With each book, Marisela will become better at what she does as an agent for Titan and her relationships with Frankie, Ian, Max and Brynn will grow and change, not to mention her relationships with her family and friends like Lia.

What’s up next for Marisela and friends?

The next book is set in Boston and Tampa and I’m just starting to write it now (though by the time you are reading this interview, I should be through!) I can’t tell you much except that Marisela will again get to kick some serious bad-guy ass and that she’ll also have to deal with who she really wants to be when she grows up--or more appropriately for this book, who she doesn’t want to be. And while she and Ian will connect on a deeper level, casting off some of their antagonism, her relationship with Frankie gets kicked up a notch through some incredibly hot sex, not to mention that whole life-death thing they have going. All in all, since this is the second book in the series and Marisela will be a Titan agent from page one, you can expect even more danger, thrills and excitement. At least, that’s the plan!

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