Like the two heroines in "Spittin' Image," Margaret and Lee are different as night and day. Born in different countries, they swear they're twins separated at birth. The only thing they have in common is their writing, their brilliant minds, and the same shoe size. By some odd coincidence, they also watch the same soap opera.

They met eleven years ago when both ran for the same national office of their writers organization. Though they totally disagree on who won and who lost, their friendship has since survived an earthquake, rising floodwaters, family tragedies, beauty makeovers, and a panicky trip through a snowstorm to reach a daughter about to go into labor.

They wrote (and eventually sold) a storyline for their favorite soap while on a cruise to Mexico, and plotted "Spittin' Image" while touring the ghost towns of Nevada. Not even living in two different states can cramp their style. They simply send chapters back and forth via e-mail (and have learned to make "Your last chapter stinks" sound like "You've just won the Pulitzer"). Though they seldom come to blows over story lines, they have been known to disagree (loudly) over a dead body or two. Where do they get their ideas? From each other--where else?