Maya Banks is one of my favorite authors. She writes in many different romance genres and I haven't found one that I don't love yet. When I was given the opportunity to read her newest, Keep Me Safe, along with interview her, I jumped. Keep Me Safe marks the 20th Maya Banks book that I have read and I have no intentions of stopping soon. I currently have 3 of her books checked out from the library, plus 2 on hold. I was very excited to meet her at RT14 in New Orleans this year. I got Colter's Woman, Be with Me, and Never Seduce a Scot autographed.
If you haven't ever read any Maya Banks' books then you are missing out. If you like suspense, she has her KGI series. Historical? Try the Montgomery & Armstrong trilogy (Never Seduce a Scot!) or the McCabe Trilogy (Seduction of a Highland Lass!). Menage? She has plenty to try, but I would go with Colter's Woman or the novella Stay with Me.
Her newest, Keep Me Safe, centers around a young woman, Ramie, who has a gift that allows her to find missing women by connecting with them. It is more of a curse, then a gift. Though she is able to find dozens of kidnapped and tortured women, Remie is drawn into their hell. Remie feels their pain and lives through the ordeal with them every time she connects to a woman. Over and over again. She goes off the grid to recuperate and hide from a stalker when Caleb Devereaux tracks her down. Giving her no choice, Caleb forces Remie to connect with his kidnapped sister. He would do anything to find her...even force Remie to live through his sister's hell. Now he owes Remie. She turns to him, months later, to rescue her from her crazed stalker. Will Caleb be able to help Remie?In the past I have done author reviews and I try to keep them lighthearted and fun. I have always been fascinated with Ms. Banks writing so most of my questions center around her writing style and thought process. I hope you enjoy the interview.
1.
You are an author that has a versatility to
write in many different genres of romance. From historical, contemporary,
ménage, and so many more. Do you have a particular favorite to write?
Quite honestly, no.
That may sound odd, but what I love or rather my “favorite” is the ABILITY to
be able to move from genre to genre with each book I write. It keeps things
fresh and interesting for me. If I had to ONLY write books in one genre for one
series and that’s all I ever wrote, I’d be bored silly. This way I look forward
to each and every book because I know it will hold something new and different
than what I just wrote.
2.
Did you always know that you would be a
writer? If not, how did you end up writing?
There is a huge
difference between always WRITING and always “knowing” you would BECOME a
published author. I’ve written all my life. I’ve written ROMANCE my entire
life. In junior high, I would write full length novels in 5 subject notebooks and
fill the pages front AND back with as many words as I could. But it never
occurred to me that I could ever BECOME an “author”
For me that was an
unobtainable pipe dream. I never even considered it! It wasn’t until after my
third child was born and I was obviously well into my adulthood that I thought
why not give it a TRY? What have I got to lose? I had a few years before my two
youngest “babies” would enter school at which time I’d planned to go back to
work and so I decided to use that time to try to realize my dream. Fortunately
for me, it only took four years and a LOT of ups and downs and “almosts” before
I signed contracts with two different publishers and began my journey as a
“profession author.”
3.
Is there one of your books that you have found
that fans gush about more than any other?
Actually yes! A
universal reader favorite seems to be Sweet Persuasion and the hero, Damon
Roche, in particular.
4.
When you aren’t writing, what do you enjoy
reading? Is there a particular book you recently read that you want to rave
about?
I have very eclectic
reading tastes. I’m pretty simple to please. All I require is a YUMMY romance
and an HEA and I’m happy. So I read widely across many genres and have
favorites in all types. Unfortunately my reading time has been nonexistent this
year because I’ve been writing furiously to meet my deadlines after health
issues sidelined me for a bit earlier in the year.
5.
Is there one genre that you have wanted to
explore with your writing?
Honestly, no! I’ve
been fortunate enough to have been able to write widely across genres my entire
career. I established myself very early on as a multi-genre author and have
consistently written in separate genres since the start. So there isn’t much left!
Any genre I’ve ever had the thought of “Hmm, I’d love to write one of THOSE
stories” well, I pretty much have already!
6.
How does your new series, the Slow Burn, differ from other
series you have written?
In some ways it’s
quite different but it’s definitely vintage Maya Banks and my voice is very
recognizable even in a different series. It’s definitely contemporary romantic
suspense and not paranormal romance at all. Not even remotely paranormal! It’s
set in the real world and merely poses the question “what if someone out there
today had psychic abilities?”
So while readers can
expect something “new” from me, the voice, the writing style, the trademark
angst and emotion prevalent in so many of my books will be times TWO in this
series! :)
7.
Are you a fast and furious writer or do you
take you time to brainstorm out the plot and characters?
No, I don’t plan out
my books or have it all completely “figured out” because if I did then I
wouldn’t be able to write it because it would be no “fun” for me! I write much
like I read. I don’t know what happens next until I turn the page. It’s so much
fun when the story or characters take you in a direction you hadn’t considered
and then I write as fast as I can to see where the twist takes me and how it
impacts the overall story. So if I knew everything before I wrote it, I’d no
longer want to write it and it would bore me to tears!
8.
How long do you spend writing each book?
It varies WIDELY and
is completely dependent on each individual story. There are some that have
literally almost written themselves and it’s all I can do to keep up with the
typing while others I labor over each and every word, striving to make it as
perfect as I can. There’s definitely no “one answer” for this question. At
least not for me!
9.
How do you deal with writer’s block?
I don’t believe in
writer’s block. If I’m not writing, it’s for one of two reasons. Either I’m
being lazy and or unmotivated and simply not writing. OR, something is wrong
with the story and I veered off the tracks at some point hence me struggling in
the present. The solution to the first is obvious. The solution to the
second reason is simply to go back and reread over everything I’ve already
written, figure out where I went wrong and fix it.
10.
Are you left or right handed?
Right.
Author Info
She lives in the South with her husband and three children and other assorted babies, such as her two Bengal kitties and a Calico who’s been with her as long as her youngest child. She’s an avid reader of romance and loves to dish books with her fans and anyone else who’ll listen! She very much enjoys interacting with her readers on Facebook and Twitter as well as in her Yahoo! Group.
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