Last weekend's warm weather makes everyone think of the summer, making one wonder if God timed this sunshine around the release of Laced, a quintessential breezy beach blanket read.

It is the 10th in a series of Regan Reilly novels written by best selling author Carol Higgins Clark, and it is set in the birthplace of the author's ancestors.

Regan and her crime fighting husband Jack have just gotten hitched and they head to Hennessy Castle, a romantic spot in western Ireland seemingly the perfect place to escape the world and the criminals they deal with daily to begin their lives together. But Hennessy Castle is hardly relaxing; they happen upon two disguised international jewel thieves who get a thrill out of taunting Jack, who was been on their trail for more than a year.

The pair steals a tablecloth, which is an heirloom of the castle, and may have stirred up old ghosts of the mansion in the process. Regan and Jack hunt for the thieves who have eluded law enforcement for so long.

Their search takes as many twists and turns as the winding country roads of the Emerald Isle, as they travel from tiny villages to the crowded pubs of Galway and back to Hennessy Castle.

Carol's mother is Mary Higgins Clark, one of the most successful living authors working today. Rather than work hard to break out of her famous mother's shadow, Carol takes advantage of having a relative in her line of work.

They time books so that they can conduct book tours together, and she is adept at shrugging off people who draw comparisons between the two authors.

"My mother likes to scare people, and I like to make them laugh," she said during an interview with the Irish Voice. "She goes for the jugular I go for the funny bone! I don't write books like she does. She does have a great sense of humor and when we write together, she can let her funny side out."

Like her books, Carol Higgins Clark is witty and charming in conversation. Here's how ours went.

Why set this book in Ireland?

Her honeymoon. I decided it would be fun to get their honeymoon in Ireland and look up their roots. It is so atmospheric that I thought it would be a great place for a book.

What kind of research did you do for the book?

I have been over to Ireland many times, so I know it pretty well. For Laced, I went over there for 10 days to get a sense of atmosphere. I went to Dublin and Ashford Castle and wanted to stay. I loved Galway. I also went into the rural sections there as well. I wanted to use the premise of ghosts.

I took notes and thought of ideas and thought about a crime in their honeymoon. They had to be personally involved. I thought of jewel thieves that Jack was tracking them down. They decide to do something like that under his nose. They leave a note and want to drive them crazy. They can't rest once they have a crime.

Are you the kind of writer who has structure around the time and place you write, or do you do heated bursts when the inspiration strikes?

If you wait for inspiration, forget it. The bottom line is that I am in a contract to produce books and this is a job. It's a job I love, mind you, but it is a job. You're not in an office or a structured environment you force yourself to do it. I write best in the morning. I try to get up very early and just make coffee around six. It's great to write before the phone rings and emails start clicking. I work all day as the deadline nears. When you start I like to get up early and do the book.

What's the hardest part about writing? Is it the pressure of a deadline?

The beginning of the book is always the hardest. You start it and you have to be willing to rewrite and tweak. I have to say I work well with a deadline. You always try to tell the best story process and working with the process of the deadline is good for me.

You're on a book tour now. How is it meeting the fans who love your book?

I love when people respond well and that people consider a friend. When it's been a real person to some people.

Do you write books in a succession that allows you to make the Regan Reilly character, or are these books just about having the reader drop in on a week in the life of Jack and Regan?

The last book Hitched happens the week before her wedding. This book happens on the honeymoon. My last two books take place in two weeks in the life of Regan Reilly.

Any inspiration for the next book?

My mother and I did a joint signing at the police museum and there were police cars from 1972 and the old uniforms and I was thinking how Jack felt like a real person for me. The next book will be set in New York City. They will have a home together and it will be a glimpse of them as newlyweds.

It's fun working together. We are always in the same room. We worked in her house in Spring Lake and we enjoy talking it out. We always want to be together when we are writing and then when you are alone. She's good about getting it down and not agonizing. She'll say "let's get it down."

How did you get involved in writing? Did your Irish heritage come into play at all?

It helps being Irish to be a storyteller. We joke that if you tell a story and it was boring you would be cut off. I started retyping my mother's book in college. My father had died and she was supporting the five kids. I did that for her and said, "I don't believe this," and I couldn't I wrote the way I talked.

I know you've taken acting classes and even acted in things like the TV adaptation of your mother's book, A Cry in the Night. What did the acting process teach you about writing?

The training in my classes, like when you do a scene and you have to convey what the stakes and motivation are, was huge. When you bring a scene to class you have to bring the scene to life. You see what makes the play works or not.

You get inside the characters. You have to make them real people. It's fascinating to watch my acting teacher redirect people. He will challenge them. What about this and that? What's going on here? You do the same thing in writing as well.

You were a pretty regular guest on Don Imus's show. What do you think of his firing?

He is not a racist. He called us the "Higgins Clark hos" when he had us on, but it was just for a laugh. It was not said with malice. He calls his environmentally friendly wife "the green ho."

He should not have said what he said and he admitted that and apologized. People lose sight of the fact that the show is a platform for a number of charities despite the fact that there was a lot of edgy humor. He did a lot for Hackensack Hospital and kids with cancer and I don't think he should have been fired. He used his shows to help people who may not have a platform

What has been the reaction to this book?

It just came out, but so far, so good! I got a nice review in Publisher's Weekly. The signings usually have people who like your books. My books come out at the same time as my mother so we can tour together. It's good for me to come around. I know you know that when you write, you are isolated; it's nice to hear back from people and it's a chance to get feedback.

Do you ever hear any positive or negative things from fans that might influence your writing?

No, but it is interesting to dig into why some people like one book you write over another. My last book was Hitched, which seems to be one that I got almost unanimous praise on. I have to examine why that book did better than others and why some stories are favorites and some are not.

There are writers who write to escape things and then those who work things out of their system and onto a page. Which one are you?

I try to put a lot of humor in my books, so I am definitely in the escapist mindset. I always liked humor. I am more in my creative element using humor. I am trying to exorcise through laughter. I wrote my second book, which was about a murder in a pantyhose convention; I was thinking I would like my writing to be weightier.

I began writing a book called Iced and it was about being depressed over the holidays. I sent the first 150 pages to the editor and she freaked. She said this was not a Reagan Reilly mystery. I think I ran afoul when I thought this was supposed to be more meaningful.

I write books that entertain with a little suspense. It helped me find out who I was as a writer.

(Laced is published by Scribner Books.)