Janet Evanovich talks "The Heist," teaming up with TV writer Lee Goldberg

(CBS News) Janet Evanovich is known for her Stephanie Plum mysteries, but now she's taking on a new challenge with "The Heist." It's the first in a series she's co-writing with Lee Goldberg, another best-selling author and TV writer.

It tells the story of a cat-and-mouse game between a former Navy SEAL and the conman she can't stop thinking about.

"There are two very smart, very sexy people in it, Kate O'Hare and Nick Fox." Evanovich said on "CBS This Morning." "Kate O'Hare is a former SEAL and is currently in the FBI -- we know that there are no women in the SEALs, but we think there should be. ... We took a little liberty there. Nick Fox is a con artist. He's charming, he's very slick, he's very good what he does, he's making a lot of money and he's playing this cat-and-mouse game."

As for the characters -- their tension is palpable, according to Evanovich: "Somebody says she wants to nail him in more ways than one. I think that says it all."

So what does Goldberg bring to this writing endeavor?

Evanovich said they've been friends for a long time and decided over beer and pizza that they liked the idea of working together.

"We were...going over our bucket list of writing projects we never got to do and it turns out we both wanted the same thing," she said.

The writers correspond via email and the phone on their drafts. Evanovich said Golberg is "brilliant at plotting" and they send chunks of the story back and forth. Evanovich said she does the final polish on the book. "We want both of our audiences to be able to enjoy this series. We want my readers to love it like they do the Plums, and we want all of his audience to like it as well."

"CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King remarked, "I would say 'mission accomplished' because you've ended it nicely for a sequel. It really does."