"Mr. Fraser, I’m your daughter’s teacher, Philippa Browne. I’m calling because-"

   "My ex wife deals with school matters, Miss Browne." A deep voice - impatience dragged over gravel. "I’m in a meeting."

   Pip doodled a frowny face on the blotter on her desk with a blue pen. "Nadia and her fiancé are out of town for a couple of days, your daughter’s staying with a friend." Why not with him, she wondered fleetingly. "And this isn’t a social call. Kaitlin’s just been involved in a fight with another student and we need you to come pick her up."

   "Is she hurt?" Now he sounded like a concerned dad.

   "No, though unfortunately the other girl will have a black eye."

   "Good," said Joe Fraser.

   Startled, Pip dropped the pen. Then she realized the man was laboring under a very natural misapprehension. "Perhaps I should clarify... Kaitlin started the fight."

   There was a brief silence on the other end of the line. "We are talking about Kaitlin Josephine Fraser, aren’t we?"

   "This is a shock to us as well, Mr. Fraser. This makes three misdemeanors in the space of a fortnight."

   Another silence. He didn’t know.

   "How about we talk when you get here," she suggested. "Can you come before lunch recess is over?"

   "Hang on." There was the sound of a muffled conversation on what must be his landline. Pip had rung his cell. She caught the words, "...my father...best treatment...that’s for me to worry about." Then started as his voice suddenly barked in her ear. "I’m on my way. What’s the address?"

   His daughter had been coming to this middle school for eighteen months and he’d never picked her up, dropped her off? Pip began to see the problem and it wasn’t Kaitlin.

   After giving him directions, she hung up and studied the girl through the window grid in the classroom’s door. The ten-year-old waiting in the corridor, knuckling her red-rimmed eyes did not look like a playground scrapper. Or someone who carved her name into trees.

   She looked like the A-grade student she was, with serious brown eyes, tidy dark braids and a pre-pubescent coltishness that would have sent Pip’s farm-bred grandmother reaching for the worming tablets. Sensitive, quiet and conscientious - often lost amidst her boisterous classmates - Kaitlin Fraser had always aroused Pip’s protective instincts.

   Pip opened the door. "Come and sit down, Kaitlin. Your dad’s on his way."

   If anything the girl blanched paler but obediently she crossed to the chair indicated, next to Pip’s desk. Outside, children raced past the open window in noisy, happy play.

   Pulling her lunch sack out of her desk drawer, Pip unwrapped the ham and cheese sandwiches and offered half to Kaitlin who shook her head miserably. "I insist."

   Kaitlin accepted the sandwich and they ate. Pip needed information but she waited until they’d finished eating – cutting up the chocolate cake and apple with her letter opener which made Kaitlin smile. Color came back into the girl’s cheeks.

   Balling the paper sack around the apple core, Pip lobbed it into the bin and sat back. "Did you really start it?"

   She’d been on playground duty when she came upon the fight...more a flailing of hands with eyes shut than the roll-around-on-the-ground punching and biting that Pip had once inflicted on her older brothers. At her shout, Kaitlin had swung around and her elbow had accidentally connected with Sophia’s cheekbone.

   Possibly in shock that she was the victim for once, Sophia kicked up such a squawk that a remorseful Kaitlin had accepted all the blame. Which was a shame – Pip had been trying to nail Sophia for weeks.

   "I did hit her first," Kaitlin said. "I mean she was calling me a geek and saying the giraffe wants its legs back, but she always does that." A wobble came into her voice. "I’m just sick of people acting like my feelings don’t matter."

   Pip was surprised. Kaitlin might be quiet but she was well liked. "Are there other kids that make you feel that way?"

   "No...not kids." She hesitated. "You know you shouldn’t have called my dad. His work’s very important."

   Now that was an interesting connection. "I’m sure you’re important to him too."

   Kaitlin began to straighten the pleats of her uniform over her bony knees.

   Pip’s counselor instincts kicked in. "While we’re waiting for him, why don’t you tell me about your dad."

   Brown eyes met Pip’s. "He’s not someone you mess with." There was pride there and a warning.

   Pip hid a smile. She could handle tough guys. "I’ll keep that in mind...remind me how long your parents have been divorced?"

   Kaitlin returned her attention to the pleats; her fingernails were chewed ragged. "Since I was eight. Mom loved Dad but he didn’t love her," she added matter-of-factly. "He always loved someone else. That’s why they split up. They only got married because of having me."

   Pip blinked. "They told you that?"

   "No." She hesitated. Remember that genealogy project we did last semester? My birthday was only six months after their wedding." A deep blush colored her cheeks; she’d realized she was making an indirect reference to S-E-X. "And when you’re an only child you hear stuff...you know, if you’re quiet enough."

   Pip didn’t know; she was the youngest of four and the sole female. "How much time do you spend with your Dad now?"

   "We spend Sundays together...when he’s not working. I don’t sleepover because he only has a one-bedroom apartment." There was defensiveness in Kaitlin’s voice, as though she was used to justifying it to her peers. She shot Pip a suspicious glance then relaxed a little when she received an encouraging smile. "And Dad doesn’t have much furniture," she confided, "or stuff to cook with."

   "Guys can be a bit hopeless like that," agreed Pip but she was puzzled. King’s Elementary was a private school and Kaitlin lived in one of San Francisco’s affluent neighborhoods. Nor did Kaitlin’s mother, Nadia, seem the vindictive type in a divorce settlement. Through her daughter’s recent troubles, they’d shared several heart-to-hearts and Pip liked the woman.

   In character she was very like her daughter but in Nadia, Kaitlin’s shyness had become composure. Pip always left her presence thinking ruefully, Next life I’m coming back impeccably groomed and dignified. The downside of being sporty and gregarious was a wardrobe of sweats and a distinct lack of mystique.

   "Your Mom’s getting married again soon, right?" Maybe this acting out stemmed from adjustment problems.

   But Kaitlin brightened. "Yeah, and it’s because of me they met. Mom made me do a team sport and Doug’s my soccer coach. He’s so cool he can even make that fun." This time Pip did smile. Kaitlin was notoriously hard to motivate with sport.

   "So, who’s acting like your feelings don’t matter?"

   Kaitlin started gnawing at her chewed nails. "I wasn’t meant to be listening."

   "Is it your Dad?"

   The girl’s eyes filled with tears. "I shouldn’t have told Mom I wasn’t enjoying my Sundays with him."

   Pip removed Kaitlin’s fingers from the girl’s mouth and held them gently. "She repeated it to your Dad?"

   "Yeah," Kaitlin gulped. "But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see him which is what he thinks now. It’s just...awkward because we run out of things to talk about. He likes sports and I don’t. I love fun parks but he gets sick on the scary rides. We always eat somewhere expensive as a treat and I have to pretend to like the food. Sometimes we go to movies but he always falls asleep. Mostly we go to the mall - he gives me some money and I go spend it while he sits at Starbucks doing work."

   Disapproval must have flickered across Pip’s face because Kaitlin added loyally, "I mean I tell him to. He always offers to shop with me but I know he hates it and I don’t want him to be bored. But now I’ve ruined everything because I heard him say to Mom..." Her voice trailed off, her hand tightened on Pip’s.

   "You can tell me, sweetie."

   Kaitlin whispered, "He said maybe he should step aside for Doug since he makes me and Mom happier than Dad ever could."

   With difficulty, Pip maintained her non-judgmental expression. What a whiner Joe Fraser was.

   "I see the problem," she said. "You feel like you have to choose between your Dad and Doug."

   Kaitlin nodded.

   "When what you really want," continued Pip, "is to have them both."

  "And to keep seeing Dad on weekends," Kaitlin said in a rush, "but..."

   She looked pleadingly at Pip.

   "But to have more fun doing it?"

   Kaitlin nodded again.

   Pip thought hard. "Why don’t I ask your dad to join us at camp next week?" The four-day adventure retreat was the only activity where Dads out-volunteered Moms and places were so hotly contested, the school usually did a draw. But as camp organizer she could pull a few strings.

   "He’ll be working, he always is." The child’s voice had a strained adult quality. "I mean he can’t even make concerts and sports days and stuff like that."

   Pip experienced a strong urge to give Joe Fraser a swift kick in the derriere. "Let me handle your Dad."

   Kaitlin looked doubtful.

   "Trust me," Pip assured her. "I’ll have your father sorted out in two shakes of a lamb’s tail." She used her native New Zealand colloquialism to make Kaitlin laugh.

   As they beamed at each other a grim voice said, "I thought I was here to discuss my daughter’s behavior."

   She and Kaitlin jumped. Pip’s immediate thought on facing the door was - who blocked the light? Her second, this guy isn’t the whiner type. With close-cropped black hair, square jaw and crooked nose he looked like a linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers - despite the impeccably cut suit. Although his bearing and the laser focus of those deep-set navy eyes was more military.

   And right now, decidedly hostile.

*   *   *

   Joe remembered teachers as nosy and meddlesome and it appeared nothing had changed. He looked at his crestfallen daughter. "You okay?"

   She gulped and nodded. His gaze swung back to Miss Browne who’d stood up behind her desk and was assessing him with equal candor. She barely looked old enough to have graduated teachers training college, with short, stylish blonde hair and a dewy-eyed prettiness that made her confident assertion laughable. No one managed Joe Fraser.

   Unsmiling, he held out a hand. "Miss Browne."

   "Mr. Fraser." She had a surprisingly firm handshake for someone barely taller than Kaitlin. Her assessment finished, she smiled suddenly, as though he’d passed some kind of test. For a moment the surprise of that open, friendly smile nearly disarmed him – then he frowned.

   "I’d prefer to talk to the principal." He let his tone fill in the gaps. Someone with authority.

   Miss Browne’s eyes widened slightly, accentuating the ingenue effect. They were the color of the sky on a clear July day. "She’s mollifying Sofia’s parents right now but of course you’re welcome to wait." Her accent suggested she was the Kiwi teacher Kaitlin raved about. "It could be some time."

   Resigned, Joe sat down. "What happened?"

   As Miss Browne outlined events, he watched Katie, who started to squirm. Didn’t she know he was on her side? Only a few years ago she would have crawled into his lap for comfort, now he couldn’t even bring himself to put a supportive hand on her shoulder for fear of doing the wrong thing.

   On the cusp of young womanhood, his baby girl was guarded, sensitive and quick to tears and Joe felt like a testosterone-charged bull in a china shop of female sensibilities. Her cheeks were still damp and a stab of tenderness made him reach into his suit jacket for a handkerchief, a habit instilled by his grandmother. Tentatively he held it out.

   Kaitlin shook her head and looked away. "I am trying not to be a crybaby," she muttered.

   Wincing, he replaced it in his pocket and met Miss Browne’s luminous gaze. Bambi with blue eyes wasn’t a good look when Joe’s protective instincts were looking for a target.

   He interrupted her explanation. "So you’re saying my daughter stood up for herself against a bully and she’s the one being sent home? What kind of crackpot approach is that?"

   "Exchanging slaps isn’t a solution to problems, Mr. Fraser," she replied calmly, "and both girls are being sent home early to reflect on their behavior."

   "Perhaps the school should be made to reflect on its behavior in allowing the problem to get to the stage where the victim has to defend herself."

   Miss Browne didn’t even blink at the threat of litigation. Or else she didn’t recognize it. Frustrated, Joe leaned forward and planted his forearms on her desk. "Do you even have a procedure for handling bullies?"

   "Dad," said Kaitlin in an agonized voice.

   "It’s okay, sweetie," said her teacher. "And yes, Mr. Fraser, I know exactly how to handle bullies." She leaned forward and planted her forearms on her desk until they were eye to eye. "Zero tolerance."

One of my big challenges in 2009 was writing one of the four books in a series celebrating Harlequin's 60th anniversary, along with fellow authors Tara Taylor Quinn, Kathleen O'Brien and Janice Kay Johnson. The Diamond Continuity spanned three generations of the Fraser and Carson families.

In order the books are:

A Daughter's Trust - Tara Taylor Quinn

For the Love of Family - Kathleen O'Brien

Like Father, Like Son - Karina Bliss

A Mother's Secret - Janice Kay Johnson

Here's an abridged excerpt from a blog we ran on e-harlequin to launch the series.

Editor Victoria Curran:

As the editor of this fantastic continuity, I have a question to throw at the authors of the Diamond Legacy. How hard was it to write books about the third generation of a family secret (presumably somewhat removed) and were you as worried as your editor (!) about explaining who everybody was, past and present? Were there any tricks up your sleeves to help you simplify the storytelling? AND, was your editor on this project the very best editor you've ever worked with?

Tara Taylor Quinn - So, the easy part first, I want to tell you all why Victoria was such a great editor to work with on this project. She really really really cares. About every single character, every single author, every single book.

Now for the hard part. As the author of the first book in this series I was left with the oderous task of introducing everyone. And trying to make certain that I did so in such a way that everyone could keep everyone else straight.

Kind of hard to do when you have to paint pictures with words and you've got an entire family portrait to depict all at once. I also had to be extremely careful not to poach on the people that lived in others people's brains. Like Joe and Belle and Daniel.

I didn't use any tricks, but rather, got to know the people myself, got to know defining characteristics about them, and then hoped that when I introduced them, they came out clearly. I have no idea how I did. When I re-read, and re-read, and re-read, I sure thought they were clear. But then I knew them intimately at that point! You all will have to judge the success of that part of the project!

Second, keeping the family tree straight - you all should have seen our first meeting on this project.

All four of us - Janice, Kathleen, Karina and I were at a writer's conference together. Picture a hotel with 2000 mostly female writers and you can understand the circus in which we held our so important meeting. We snuck away for a morning coffee in the private concierge lounge way high up in the hotel. Victoria joined us for the first bit. And we talked. And plotted. We'd get excited, and then one of us would come up with the reason why said idea wouldn't work. Karina, bless her soul, had things written down.

We finally realized, before we could do anything, we had to sketch out a family tree because none of us could keep anyone straight. We had no idea who was related to who - before and after the will's reading became confused. And we didn't know ages of anyone.

But that meeting made this project.

We knew, by the time we were done, who we were and, basically, what we were about. After that, the characters became real people and then it wasn't hard to keep them apart. Or to know who was who - anymore than it is in your own family to know who your grandmother is, or who she's married to. Or to know your aunts and uncles and cousins.

I know, for me, Victoria's passion for the project spilled over to me and by the time I was done, I cared about all of these people as though they were my own family. I couldn't wait until each book after mine was finished and sent to me to read. (We all had to send our books to each other upon completion to make certain that everything jived.)

I hated it when Janice's book was done. I'm a full member of the family now. How can Sue and Belle and Joe and Daniel just go off and leave me???

Kathleen O'Brien - This project was absolutely one of my favorite ever, and not just because my editor was so fabulous...although she was!

The Carsons simply had such a rich tapestry of family emotions. Perhaps because I come from a complex Southern Gothic family of my own, I had no problems at all seeing how the third generation would be profoundly affected by the secret that is revealed at the beginning of Tara's book.

Every human carries around an idea of "who we are." We think we come from a certain kind of family, and we believe, even if unconsciously, that we have a genetic heritage. Can we fight it? Sure! But is it always going to be powerful? You bet!

Robert and Sarah, were such strong, nurturing personalities who were beloved by their children and grandchildren. I felt so much empathy for them as they tried to come to terms with their own mistakes--and to seek a way to minimize the damage to the people they loved. It's easy to say now, oh, they should have done this or that...

Hindsight is, as they say, 20/20, but when you're in the thick of a problem it's not always easy to see the path out!

On the logistical side, Tara's so right! That first meeting at conference was a little chaotic and...scary! We each had to find an individual vision within the larger picture, and manage not to step on each other's toes along the way! I think I can speak for all of us, though, when I say that we're all so excited about the end product. Each book is separate, and yet each is connected. And each one is a gem!

Victoria brought so much to the project. First, at least for me, is her ability to project calm! Perhaps it's an act, but it's a great act! And she has an ability to dive completely into the writer's vision and FEEL everything just as you would want a reader to. She cared about our characters as much as we did, even while she had to guide them deftly to the best possible telling of their stories. What a gift!

And I'd just like to say one other thing about the joy of writing these connected stories. It's tricky, but it's so rewarding because 1+1+1+1 actually ends up being much more than four!

When I needed to enrich my characters, I could dip into the creative treasure chests of Tara, Karina and Janice--and believe me, those treasure chests are overflowing!

The nuances and textures they added to Belle, or Sam or Emily when they used them in scenes, and the rich touches they put on our collective world were so amazing. The presence of their fascinating people in my book made it a hundred times better!

A delight, from beginning to end. I just hope you, as readers, can feel the joy!

Karina Bliss - Truthfully?  I was terrified going into this continuity with all these writing heavyweights. I felt like Harpo Marx stepping into the ring with three Mohammed Ali's. But boy, did I learn a lot from these great writers.

Fortunately I already knew Victoria was a great editor as she's mine. (I'm trying not to say that too possessively!).

I think one of the strengths of the series is that there were no 'bad guys' in the original 1949 love triangle. Only good people who in difficult times (just after WWII) made errors of judgement, suffered for them and then tried to fix them - with the muddled, mixed-success results of real human beings.

Victoria was very clear on that, a reflection of her quality as an editor, and the other authors were quick to agree. From memory, I just gulped and nodded. But it set the tone for the whole series and led to great and powerful loves for our characters. And important themes like forgiveness, redemption and transformation.

Logistically, the series worked in fits and starts, according to people's schedule and deadlines.

I think the turning point came when we were able to read each other's characters in action. Plot possibilities started opening up. Other people's characters became real.

I started viewing the world we'd invented through Joe's eyes and he prioritised relationships for me. That made things a lot easier. As an example, his grandmother was the only important person in the love triangle, at least initially, because Sarah and Robert Carson were strangers.

Joe's heroine, Philippa, knew nothing about the family history...and Joe didn't want her to! I could reveal family conflicts through her eyes which hopefully makes it easier for the reader. Which only increases my respect for Tara's skill in having to bring our cast of characters to life so early in the first book.

And I had a lot of fun. Kathleen gave us Sam Carson, Belle's father, and my all time favourite villain - though Sam would insist he's the only one in this damn family with his head screwed on.

It was like Xmas getting scenes from the other writers and reading how Tara, Kathleen and Janice had written my Joe (much scarier writing their characters).

And most of all I loved how individual ideas came together for plot twists and turns that readers' won't see coming.

Just wait until you read Janice's series ending. Oh boy.

When you were brainstorming this idea, who chose who you were going to write about? Did you all bring your characters to the table or were suggestions thrown about? Did that make sense? And how did you decide who was going to have who? As an example, why did Tara choose Sue?

Karina Bliss - The continuity editor Victoria Curran told us our characters were the third generation of the original love triangle but whether that person was male or female was a matter of personal choice. Joe Fraser made that choice for me! It was interesting that we ended up with two males, two females as 'leads' in the series.

Each of us had autonomy over our romances and the continuity arc was a joint affair. From memory...and I'm happy to be corrected on this...we evolved our main characters' history independently though Tara came up with the brilliant suggestion that Joe and Sue once dated.  The backstory of the love triangle characters was hammered out collectively, but in a way that still allowed each of us to invent our hero/heroine's relationship with Josephine Fraser, Robert and Sarah Carson.  The backstory of the middle generation ie: the parents of our characters was largely evolved by the writer  whose character was most closely related to them. So Tara characterized Sue's parents. Kathleen characterized Belle's. I characterized Joe's father Adam. And Janice, whose character Daniel was Josephine Fraser's late child (by second husband Vernon Kane) characterized those characters.  Josephine proved multi-dimensional. Her grandson, Joe (who was raised by her) thought she was wonderful but her son, Daniel had a thornier relationship with her. So our heroes' different perceptions really gave her character a lot of complexity.

Dealing with the fallout of a sixty-year-old family secret that's left his estranged father recovering from a stroke, the last thing Joe Fraser needs is a feisty young teacher telling him he needs to get his act together with his ten-year-old daughter.

Who the hell does Philippa Browne think she is?

Unfortunately he's desperate enough to take her advice. But when he attends a four-day school camp as parent helper his clashes with Miss Browne take an unexpected direction...

Pip certainly hasn't resisted the advances of charming, easy-going Californians to fall for this taciturn tough guy so close to returning home. But does any woman walk away from the temptation of a dangerous attraction?  And they both have a safety net - she's leaving the States at Christmas.

Her unexpected pregnancy ruins everything.

Pip's not ready for motherhood and while Joe's suggesting marriage, his heart's not in it - at least that he'll acknowledge. Unfortunately hers is. As for Joe, he's been down this road before. In fact, his new family tree is littered with examples of divided loyalties and unplanned pregnancies.

But is he really repeating the past...or finally getting a chance to do things right?