The opening scene was different from any other opening scene you've written in that it was highly suspenseful. Why did you do it that way?

The three requirements of a love story are originality, universality, and plot and characters that are interesting enough to hold the reader's attention. By originality, I mean that all elements have to be original, including such relatively minor points as how the characters first meet, what they do on dates, how their relationship unfolds, etc. Originality doesn't simple preclude what other authors have written; it also precludes what I've written in previous novels, as well as what audiences have seen in other mediums, including films and television, which is the reason this genre is so challenging. At the same time, each story must be universal enough that people could imagine it happening to them. Since the search-and-rescue scenario was both original and interesting, this was how I chose to have the characters meet. It had the added benefit of creating suspense and drama in the opening pages.