Fans packed Northridge High School's auditorium on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 to hear Mary Higgins Clark and her daughter Carol Higgins Clark speak. The mother/daughter bestsellers were in Davis County to promote the release of their latest novels: "Just Take My Heart" and "Cursed."

Clark and her daughter scheduled the stop in Utah as part of a book tour that will take them to cities throughout the country before returning home to New York.

"It's the human element," Carol Higgins Clark said. "You hear the number of books you sold, but it's just a number, but to really meet the people that buy your books, it's great."

It was no easy task getting the duo to make a stop in Utah on their national tour. Judy Butler, program coordinator at the Davis County Library, was instrumental in bringing the Clarks to Layton as part of the Davis Reads program.

"I've been trying for seven years to get them to come," Butler said. "And this was the year that their publicist and I were able to work things out. It's just been a matter of never giving up."

Butler's persistence paid off.

The authors spoke to a buzzing auditorium taking comments and questions from fans of all ages that had lined up well before the doors opened for the free event. They also signed copies of their latest releases and previous works that fans had brought with them.

A Bronx native, Mary Higgins Clark has published 27 suspense novels in her career and her first, "Where are the Children," is in its seventy-fifth printing.

Carol Higgins Clark has penned nine bestsellers of her own and is an actress, playing roles in both television and film. In addition to their solo work, the mother/daughter team coauthored a bestselling holiday mystery series.

Just before the presentation, the pair sat down in a backstage dressing room and chatted with local media about their popularity in the area.

"Neither one of us uses explicit sex or violence," Mary Higgins Clark said. "It was just natural to me, and there was never a point where I thought 'maybe if I spice it up, I'll sell a couple more books.'"

She also gave a little insight to her writing style, explaining that she doesn't like to read novels while she is working on a book because it breaks her concentration.

Carol Higgins Clark talked about some of the more interesting things that have happened while she and her mother have been out on tour, including her mother's cell phone going off during a cooking segment on a local news broadcast as they were waiting to go on.

"We were in the studio waiting for our segment," Clark said. "All the sudden her cell phone went off and started playing 'When the Saints come marching in.'"

She started laughing as she reminisced about a female fan they encountered earlier on the tour.

"One of our first signings in New Jersey a woman said to my mother, 'you give me more pleasure than my husband.'"

The day before coming to Layton, the authors presented in Houston, Texas, and the day after their Utah appearance were scheduled in Scottsdale, Arizona; proof that have no problems with a busy schedule.

And even with an already successful following, the rigorous tour schedule was something the mother and daughter felt compelled to do.

"Writing is solitary," Mary Higgins Clark said. "It's you and the computer, and you don't want interruptions or drop-in visits. So to go out on the road and meet the people who read the books-to get some feedback from them-is very gratifying."