Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Meet Author Maisey Yates - Mills and Boon and Harlequin Presents Debut Author













Maisey Yates Bio:




I always knew that I wanted to be a writer, even when I had no idea what I wanted to write! From the moment I first learned how to form words with a pen I was writing stories.



Even when I wasn’t writing seriously, I was harassing my friends and relatives with nonsensical email stories starring them and various characters from Lord of the Rings.



I was distracted from writing for a while between college and meeting the man of my dreams, my own personal tall dark handsome hero, and getting married and starting our family. Then, when I was pregnant with our second child I picked up my first romance novel.But it was when I found my first Harlequin Presents at a thrift store that I really fell in love with the genre. And that was when I knew what I wanted to write.



Nearly two years after writing and submitting my first ever full manuscript I got The Call from Harlequin Mills and Boon. I am truly happy to say that I am now a Harlequin Presents author!



I live in the wilds of Southern Oregon with my gorgeous, diaper-changing husband, our two little boys, our baby girl, and our anti-social cat.




Maisey's Website







Daring proposal.....



When Elaine gives her business presentation to Marco De Luca she thinks she can be cool, calm and collected. She's wrong! The fierce tycoon can see straight through her shapeless suits and scraped-back hair to get right under her skin...





Ruthless awakening!




She may have proposed marriage as the perfect business arrangement, but suddenly Elaine's not quite so confident. Marco's made it clear that he's no modern man- if he takes a wife, he wants a ravishing beauty by his side, obedient and willing, day...and night!





Read a few reviews on the Mills and Boon website





INTERVIEW:

I would like to welcome To Romance Author Buzz, debut author Maisey Yates who writes for Mills and Boon Modern and Harlequin Presents. His Virgin Acquisition will be released in the UK in August 2010 and North America October 2010.



Maisey: Hi, Marilyn! Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me!



Tell us about your Call story.



Maisey: I had gotten up early and was barely conscious when I decided to check my email. I had a message from my editor, asking if today would be a good time for her to call me and talk about my manuscript, and if I could send her my phone number. So with very shaky fingers I emailed her back and said ‘Yes, please!’ and at 8 am on December 1st, I got offered my very first contract! There was much jumping up and down, which was quite a feat since I was eight months pregnant at the time. (my editor was only thankful she hadn’t put me into labor!)



What is your writing style like?



Maisey: I think I have a more informal writing style. I like dialogue and I love a little banter between characters. I like humor. I think life, and love, always need a little humor.



Do you plot your stories or let your characters lead you?



Maisey: I’m this weird plotter/pantser sort of writer. I like to have certain things plotted, especially the central conflict of the characters, but sometimes as I’m writing they take me somewhere I didn’t think we were going. And that’s always fine with me!



Describe a day in the life of Maisey Yates.



Maisey: Oh my…busy! My oldest son is nearly four, then I have a two year old boy and a two month old baby girl. I try to start early so that I can check my email and get all the business that happened overnight taken care of. (I’m working with the UK office and those time differences make it interesting!)



Then the kids get up and things get pretty crazy from there.



After my husband gets home I turn off the Internet so I don’t get distracted and settle into some writing time. Then one of us makes dinner, maybe, and we all spend the evening together. After that I usually try to squeeze in more writing before bed.



And sometimes even the dishes get done!



What are you currently working on?



Maisey: Right now I’m doing revisions for my third book, which features forbidden love and a very sexy sheikh, and a princess trying to escape her arranged marriage. I’m absolutely loving it. I also have a new project in the works that I’m pretty excited about.



What suggestions would you have for beginning writers as far as "breaking into the business”?



Maisey: Write. Write and submit. Writing is as much about discipline as it is about talent. I write every day, even when I’m not ‘feeling’ it. If you want to be in the writing business, then you want writing to be your job, which means treating it like a job. A job you love, the best job in the world, but still a job.




Be willing to make the changes the editors ask for and try to find some objectivity when looking at your own work. Remember that editors want to get the best out of you!



Who is your favorite author?



Maisey: Oh my! That’s really hard. There are so many authors that I like. Miranda Lee introduced me to Presents, and my first ever category romance was a Silhouette Desire written by Heidi Betts. I still love their books! They were the ones that got me hooked on romance! Sarah Morgan is always a must read for me. Lisa Hendrix, Sarah Mayberry, Lynne Graham, India Grey, Penny Jordan, Trish Wylie…(see, I could go on!)



What are you reading?



Maisey:I'm reading The Billionaire's Blackmailed Bride by Jacqueline Baird at the moment



What is the best part for you of being an author?



Maisey: Writing is what I love to do, and the books I love reading most are Presents. So to have that as a job is just mind blowing to me. I’m still in shock, I think.



When using a locale in your books which you’ve never visited, how much research to you do?



Maisey: Well, this is a pretty big thing for me, because I haven’t really been to a ‘Presents locale’. I like to research enough that I have a sense of where I am, I don’t like writing blind, which is where Google Earth really comes in handy. But I don’t want to sound like a Guide To Hawaii, so I try to keep the trivia facts to a minimum. One big thing I like to know is how places smell. Weird, I guess, but I like to incorporate more than just sight into building a scene.



Tell us something about yourself that we might not know



Maisey: My husband, who is tall, dark and handsome (though unfortunately not a billionaire!) was my boss. So Presents.



Maisey, thanks so much for spending time at Romance Author Buzz and giving us a chance to get to know you!



Maisey: Thanks so much having me! I had a lot of fun. But then, I liked talking almost as much as I like writing…
Happy Reading, everyone!



In honor of Maisey's first published book, Romance Author Buzz will giveaway a $10.00 Amazon gift card. This contest is International. Please don't forget to leave your email address. To be elegible to win, go over to Facebook and or Twitter and follow Maisey and come back here and tell me what you've done. Again, congratulations Maisey!

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