In reading, I often have three or four novels going at a time—a mystery or a romantic suspense at night, and a literary or a general fiction during the day's stolen moments. I prefer character-driven stories, whether they're sweeping family sagas or traditional mysteries or close-up portraits of individuals dealing with life's chaos and meanderings.
For writing, my choices are US historical and women's suspense (the softer side of suspense) with an international flavor. I've completed two women's suspense novels, one of which is currently available for representation, and am now working on my first historical.
I connect with other writers face-to-face through workshops and conferences (which is how my critique group met), and through local writing groups where I live. In the online community, blogging, Twitter and writing-oriented sites such as this one provide great opportunities for interaction. I'm a happy camper (I mean scribbler) in the writing community.