Nalini Singh's latest entanglement

Getting inside her characters' heads and seeing the world through their eyes is what Nalini Singh believes is the secret to making them so real.

"My books are character-driven. I see them as real people while I'm writing. Instinct also plays a big part as I allow my characters to grow and move through their world," Singh told me during a visit to Hawke's Bay.

Considering she's a New York Times bestselling author of paranormal romances, her instincts must be pretty spot on. Her latest release, Tangle of Need, is the 11th book in the Psy/Changeling series and finds wolf changeling Adria and SnowDancer lieutenant Riaz, who both first appeared in Play of Passion, fighting a dangerous attraction for each other.

There are hundreds of characters in this series, but Singh says she doesn't like to abandon any of them. "My only rule for an appearance is that they must have a role important to the storyline.

"I have developed my own world, it's like a movie playing in my head."

Singh says her goal when writing a book is to give readers the best experience she possibly can. "I ask myself, is this my best work? I don't want to give my readers anything but my best."

Born in Fiji and raised in New Zealand, Singh spent three years living and working in Japan, during which time she travelled around Asia. She has worked as a lawyer, a librarian, a candy-factory general hand, a bank temp and an English teacher - not necessarily in that order. She is also the author of the Guild Hunter series, as well as stand-alone novels. Singh believes the Twilight series has helped market other paranormal novels. This may be so, but after more than 16 bestsellers I think she can safely say she's a star.

Tangle of Need, Hachette, RRP $34.99