best-selling novelist Linda Crockett is already hard at work on the next one.

And as she and her husband prepare to leave after a two-year stay here, she reveals that her new book is set in Bermuda.

Eleven years after her first historical romance ("they sell!'') was published, Ms Crockett is experiencing that elusive but sweet smell of success. Negotiations are underway to film her latest book, Safelight, and she believes her "Bermudian'' book will also be made into a movie.

"I have been doing research on Bermuda for the past two years. Obviously, the basic story has to work, but it's how you `wrap the package' that counts. So there will be a lot of solid information on the attractions of Bermuda, just as there was in my last book, which is set in Florida. Both of these locations are great for filming. It would bring a lot of benefits to Bermuda in terms of publicity, employment and so on,'' she says.

She goes on to mention that the "nooks and crannies'' of the Botanical Gardens (where husband Mike Bush has been serving as Curator) and such places as the Biological Station and Nonsuch Island will be worked into the script.

"I want people in California to read about this wonderful place -- and come here to visit! There will be a strong conservation theme in this book.'' More than that, she will not disclose, except that, as with her other thrillers, some serious issues will be underpin the plot. But, she adds, serious themes do not mean that you cannot have a good plot and a touch of romance thrown in for good measure.

Ms Crockett, who sits and chats as casually about her enormous success, as most people discuss their day in the office, says that she has enjoyed the experience of living in Bermuda "as an ordinary person, not as a writer'', valuing the privacy and the opportunity to get to know people in all walks of life. She points out that this, of course, is vital for any fiction writer.

Although she has deliberately kept a low profile here, she did go to her daughter's school, Mount St. Agnes, to talk to the students about writing as a career.

"I never knew anyone who had become a writer when I was growing up,'' she explains, adding that she feels it is important to get young people to "reach for the heights''.

Linda Crockett's own career began, as so many literary careers have, almost by accident. Her first husband was a historian who held the theory that "anyone'' could write a book. While he dreamed of becoming the next James Michener, she took advantage of their stint in London to research and write her own book, an historical romance. Unlike his, her novel sold (for $3,500) -- "All I wanted to do was pay things like the vet's bill or buy some tennis shoes,'' she laughs.

She admits that while she was a novice in tackling the form of a book, her English Masters degree from Florida State University set her in good stead for the actual writing process.

"I had a good ear for dialogue. I also feel very strongly that if you expect people to spend a few hours reading your stuff, they should be able to come out of it with a bit of knowledge about something, so my backgrounds and settings form an important element in my work.'' So began her preoccupation with background themes that have explored, amongst other things, shrimp fishing in the Florida Keys, a seabird sanctuary, and, in her soon to be published Carousel, the fascinating history surrounding this picturesque queen of the fairground, brought to the US by European immigrants.

But it is Linda Crockett's unusual insistence that societal problems have a valid place in what might be loosely termed her "romantic mystery novels'' that has undoubtedly caught the attention of her burgeoning band of avid readers.

And her novels, for all their scary plots, are firmly rooted in reality.

Heroes are allowed to wear glasses, heroines are not necessarily beautiful ("it's not always the gorgeous woman who is raped'') and, unlike most of her literary competitors, Ms Crockett surrounds her characters with families and friends.

Her insistence on addressing the darker issues that confront women in today's society, rather than the stereotyped women who have prevailed in popular romance fiction, bring a substantive and wholly realistic element that is rare in works of this genre. Perhaps for this reason (apart from the fact that she happens to be a marvelously fluent speaker) she has also become something of a spokeswoman on behalf of women and is increasingly in demand at writers' conferences throughout the US.

Dark Window, for instance, tackles the problem of widowhood and Linda Crockett says she felt she was "on the right track'' when a friend of hers distributed copies of the book to help women through the mourning process.

Child molestation provides the theme for Sandman, while in Safelight, rape is the issue.

"I am always offended by books where the hero is abusive. We're supposed to accept that he behaved roughly towards the heroine because he'd had a bad day! Then the girl goes off with him into the sunset. I think it's sending the wrong message. Look at Ted Bundy, the serial killer. He looked a nice enough guy, wore nice suits. Got his girl -- and then bashed her brains in.'' If there is a moral to be found in these books -- and there always is -- it is probably the teacher in Linda Crockett. She has taught English and makes the most of her knowledge of psychology. She also has lots of friends who are policemen.

"I like to think I help their morale when I'm able to give a more satisfactory ending to the sort of crimes they investigate. In real life, the frustrations they experience are enormous. No wonder there is a very high divorce and alcohol rate amongst policemen. Theirs is a thankless task in many ways and they deserve our respect.'' This outspoken novelist is also appalled by the spread of pornography which she believes creates an acceptance of vulgarity.

"Madonna and some of those `rap' songs -- that's no way to present and speak about women! And we are becoming so desensitised by violence that it no longer has much reality for a lot of people. We have created a monster.'' Linda Crockett says she will leave Bermuda with the happiest of memories.

"Mike and I were married here. It's a very special place. I was very happy to have my daughter at school here. Racially, it may not be perfect but there is far more variation in the relationships between races here than in the States.

There is something about the ambience of the people that is very peaceful and gentle. This was wonderful for us to see because it's a kind of gentility that people talk about. Here in Bermuda, you actually see it.'' NOVEL SETTING -- Ms Crockett's next romantic thriller will be set in Bermuda, where she's lived for two years.