Author Bio:
It took many years and many jobs before USA Today Bestselling author Yvonne Lindsay realised what she really wanted to be when she grew up—a romance author. Once she figured that out, it took thirteen years of false starts, rejections, encouragement, and yet more rejections to achieve that goal.
In 2005 Yvonne sold to New York publisher, Harlequin Desire. Her first book rose to #1 on the Borders/Waldenbooks Series Bestseller list and in 2007 was also nominated for the prestigious Romance Writers of Australia Romantic Book of the Year Award. At last count her books had been distributed in more than 27 countries and in almost as many languages. Currently working on her 22nd and 23rd titles for Silhouette Desire, Yvonne is thrilled to be living the life she always dreamed of and bringing her stories to her readers.
Book Description:
The proposal is unthinkable, unimaginable…yet not unappealing. Long ago, Piper Mitchell's passionate affair with her father's protégé ended in disaster. Now, in spite of his demands, she's thrilled to begin it anew—especially if it means a chance at forgiveness.
Wade Collins has longed for revenge on the spoiled rich girl who toyed with his affections. And now that Piper is back—destitute and deeply indebted to him—he'll use any means necessary to get her back in his bed. But when emotions enter the negotiation, will Piper turn the tables yet again, settling for nothing less than love on her terms?
Yvonne, welcome to Romance Author Buzz.. Is there a back story to THE PREGNANCY CONTRACT?
Hi Marilyn and thank you for having me here.
THE PREGNANCY CONTRACT definitely has a back story. Piper and Wade were lovers more than eight years ago and when Piper, the quintessential spoilt little rich girl, made an ultimatum forcing Wade to choose between her or her father (for whom Wade worked,) their relationship fell apart. She left the country and faced some serious growing up on her own and spent the next eight years learning how to become a better person and discovering she needed to make amends for past behaviours before moving on with her life. She hasn’t really allowed for life moving on at home without her though, so her homecoming really isn’t what she anticipated at all.
There is a lot more to your career than just your upcoming title, THE PREGNANCY CONTRACT due in bookstores in OCTOBER 2011 . What can you tell us about your writing? How long have you been writing?
I have loved to read romance since I was introduced to my first Mills & Boon when I was thirteen years old. By the time I was fifteen I knew that one day I wanted to write the stories that I was so hooked on. It was a good many years, jobs, marriage and having a family later that I was lucky enough to hear Susan Napier (M&B author) speak at a local centre. She mentioned Romance Writers of New Zealand, which had only recently been set up and after about a year I gathered the courage to join and learned about the submissions process and what I needed to do. It took me thirteen years and much heartbreak but eventually I succeed in my goal. Since my first sale in 2005 I’ve contracted 23 titles (which includes two online titles as well as a novella length continuity.)
What is a day like in your life? Do you have a strict writing schedule?
I do adhere to a writing schedule when I’m under contract. This usually starts with checking email and doing updates, social media, promotion, etc. in the morning until about 11:00 am. I then work until about 5:00 pm when I stop writing and put on my wife and mother hat again. I find the internet a delicious distraction (who doesn’t!?) and need to use a timer to remain on task.
What do you find the hardest thing about writing? The easiest?
The easiest thing about writing is often the ideas for new stories. Making those ideas hang together and building the conflict within each story with a fresh new slant can definitely be challenging.
Where do you get your ideas, inspirations from?
Funnily enough, I get a lot of inspiration from houses. Old houses, new houses, big houses, decrepit houses. For some reason they always trigger storylines for me. Maybe it’s because I’m such a homebody and home and family are both so important to me.
Do you usually outline your stories before you write them, or do you "go with the flow"?
I definitely outline. Without a map I can meander forever. At least with a well defined outline I know exactly where I’m going.
Do you ever experience writer’s block? If so, have you found your own ‘cure’ for it?
I try not to accept that writer’s block exists. I have had times when it’s been a struggle to put myself into work mode but I have a routine that I generally follow, which helps me get into that state of mind. It involves closing my office door (the cat protests most annoyingly at this,) putting on my oil burner or lighting a scented candle, turning on a small desktop water fountain and putting a set of noise cancelling headphones over my ears. If I obey my pre-writing process, I generally settle in to work a whole lot better. If I still have a problem, I will read over what I worked on the day before. Sometimes there’s something there that needs attention to allow me to work forward again.
What is your biggest passion in life?
My family. No question.
What are you reading now? Do you have any favorite authors?
At the moment I’m reading Archangel’s Blade. I love Nalini Singh’s work, especially her Archangel series. Other favourite authors are Linda Howard, Barbara Erskine and Lisa Gardner.
What did you want to be when you grew up? If you weren't an author, what would you want to be?
I never really decided what I wanted to be. I thought about a lot of different careers but had no burning desire to embark on those paths. I trained as a secretary/PA because I couldn’t think of anything else to do, really, plus I had a shopping habit that wanted to be fed regularly so after finishing school I did my training and started work…and shopping! When I really think about it, though, writing stories has always been something I’ve loved to do and I’m so lucky that that’s my career now. I guess that means I finally grew up.
What makes a hero attractive to you? What hero is your favorite that you have written to date?
A hero needs integrity and a powerful sense of right and wrong. Even if the heroine doesn’t initially understand exactly what is motivating him in his behavior toward her, I think it’s important the readers can identify with why he’s doing what he’s doing. We may not always agree with his motives, but if we can understand them it goes a long way toward falling in love with him as readers. And, of course, if he’s in the wrong he has to be strong enough to admit it and make amends for that. As far as a favourite hero in my books goes, seriously, whichever hero I’m writing at the time is my favourite. I know that probably sounds trite but there it is! Besides, it’s kind of like asking which of your children is your favourite, isn’t it?
What do you hope readers to take with them after reading one of your books?
I would sincerely hope that my readers close the final pages of my books and feel a deep satisfaction that, no matter what, the hero and heroine of that story really truly have a Happy Ever After, and that they not only deserve to be together, they belong together.
Do you think there is anything about you that readers would be shocked to discover?
LOL, no, I’m pretty boring. I think.
Are there any goals that you set for yourself when you began writing that you still have yet to obtain?
Yes, I was revisiting my goals the other day and one that I set for myself after my first sale was to have a strong category/series and single title career. I’ve been working hard on the former, not so hard, yet, on the latter but it’s in my forward plans.
Will you have more stories released in 2011?
THE PREGNANCY CONTRACT is my last release in 2011, but I will have four titles out in 2012. The first two, THE WAYWARD SON and A FORBIDDEN AFFAIR, will be out in February and March 2012 as the first books in my The Vinters mini-series. I hope to deliver at least two stories each year in that series for a couple of years to come. Later in the year I will have a continuity book out (September 2012) and a Billionaires and Babies title (to be scheduled.)
Yvonne, thanks so much for stopping by Romance Author Buzz.
Thank you for having me!
Where readers can find Yvonne:
Yvonne's Website
Yvonne on Facebook
Yvonne's Blog
Yvonne is happy to give the winner a choice of a copy of THE PREGNANCY CONTRACT or the reader’s choice of one of her backlist. post to anywhere in the world.
Don't forget to leave your email address so that you can be contacted. Contest will end October 30th.
Don't forget to leave your email address so that you can be contacted. Contest will end October 30th.
