NORMAL - By day, Laurie Larsen is a systems manager at State Farm Insurance Cos.

By night, she writes novels.

Her love affair with writing began as a child when she wrote stories with horses as the main characters. After majoring in English at Blackburn College, Carlinville, she went to work for a small magazine publishing company.

The work didn't pay enough, so she entered the business world, but the Normal mother of two never lost her love for writing.

Tell us about "Whispers of the Heart," which came out in 2000 and was your first romance novel.

The main theme is whether the heroine can open her heart to love again after her husband dies.

What about the second novel, "Momentary Lapse," which came out in 2004?

The husband dies in an accident and the woman is thrust into being mother, father and bread-winner for two children. The oldest daughter trips down the stairs and breaks her arm and authorities threaten to take the daughter away.

Must romance novels have happy endings?

That is one of the requirements of romance novels.

Have you had any other books published?

My latest came out in November and is more of a fiction/suspense. It's called "Legacy of Lies" and is about a woman who gave up her baby for adoption and 25 years later is trying to find her. There are a lot of twists and turns to it.

When do you write and what are your goals?

I try to write an hour a day. I try to take advantage of the time when the kids are doing homework. If I can't write at night, I try to do it early in the morning. My goal is to be published by a major publisher in order to reach more people.