Maya Banks

INTERVIEWED: December 2006


Hi Maya! Many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed during this very busy time of the year:)

Please tell us something about yourself and your writing.

I always dread this question the most because basically I'm a dull, boring person, and somewhat of a recluse :) I live in south Texas. Definitely a die hard southerner. Can't imagine living anywhere else. I live close to the beach so we spend a lot of time there swimming and fishing and being all around beach bums. We also have great hunting and spend most of the fall at the deer camp.

My writing, hmm. I started out writing historicals. Definitely my first love. Along the way I decided to merge some of my favorite elements of adventure and lots of action and wrote my first adventure historical. Eventually I wrote some contemporary romantic suspense, but it wasn't until I started infusing my love of the south and southern characters, blending sexy, steamy themes with these settings/characters that I sold and found a readership. I currently write for Samhain Publishing and Berkley. Since selling, I've also found a home for those adventure historicals with Samhain as well :)

How did you become a published author, and was being a published author something you always wanted to do?

Hard work, perserverence, patience (I hate that word) and luck. Oh and I can't forget timing, which for the most part I've always sucked at. But finally I got the timing aspect down and 16 contracts later I'm writing away. While I've always wanted to be an author, it isn't something I ever concentrated on until a few years ago when I decided to become serious and try my hand.

What has the reader response been to your books?

In a word, phenomenal. I've been blown away by all the reader emails and the response to my stories. It's very awe inspiring because I still get a ridiculous thrill every single time I get a reader email. Totally makes my day.

How does an author (and you, yourself) measure their success?

I can't speak for other authors. I do know it's impossible to measure your success by how well *another* author does. I set goals for myself and I consider it a success when I reach them.

Do you have a writing process, whereby each story is developed in the same way?

No two stories are created in the same way for me. Sometimes I write in a notebook because it's the only way I can unlock my brain and let the scenes flow. Other times I'll work on my laptop. Sometimes I zoom through the opening and get bogged down in the middle. Sometimes I have the ending worked out and no clue how to begin. It definitely keeps me on my toes.

Which of your books is your favourite and why?

My favorite is my first adventure historical that I'm publishing in January under my real name Sharon Long. It's called Her Majesty, My Love and it will always have a special place in my heart. It's full of all the things I love about a story. Lots of action, adventure, intrigue and romance. Thus far, most of your books have been stand alone stories.

Do you have any plans to write connected tales in the future? Have readers been clamoring for secondary characters to have their own book written?

I never go into a book thinking series or connected characters. I've had many many readers ask if I planned to write stories for secondary characters from Seducing Simon. When I first started receiving the emails, I was baffled because it honestly never occurred to me. I do have a set of connected novellas, the first of which will be releasing in December (19th) They can definitely stand alone and can be read without having read the others in the series. They merely have characters that carry over from one story to the next.

When your books reach the editing process, what goes through your mind?

At that point, nothing. I make darn sure I turn in a book that is as clean and tight as possible so usually, the editing process is fairly painless. I haven't had any rips and tears and requests to do major rewriting yet. Please tell us about your working relationship with your publisher, Samhain. I love Samhain and I love my editor. She has been fantastic! She gives me a lot of leeway in what I can write. I've gone to her twice after contracting a story because the focus and direction, not to mention the plot, changed drastically in the planning stages, and she was completely open to the new direction in both cases. She's very encouraging, and she's not vetoed an idea of mine yet. That kind of freedom is priceless.

Do you have any plans for the next year or so, life-wise and writing-wise?

I have a very full writing schedule in 2007. Im completely booked under both pen names I write under with Samhain and I also have a two book contract with Berkley with my first book coming out with Berkley in September 07. I have a single title to write, four novellas and another book length story and I'll also have proposals to write in between. So I'll be very busy in 07 :) In addition to what I have to write, I have four Sharon Long novels releasing from Samhain, 5 titles from Samhain under Maya Banks and also my first Berkley release.

What are your favourite genres to write, and which are your favourite to read?

I love writing anything action adventure. Throw in some intrigue and I am happy as a clam. As for reading, my only requirement is a good story. I'm completely open to just about anything. Are there any genres you would love to have a go at in the future that you haven't yet attempted? Hmm no, not at the moment. I'm pretty happy with what I'm writing. But I'm completely idea driven, so if I got hit by a really wonderful idea in a genre I hadn't written in, I'd certainly give it a go.

What can readers look forward to from you in the future?

From Maya Banks, more contemporary erotic romance, particularly southern set romances with the flavor of the south :) From Sharon Long, adventure historicals and I have a contemporary action/adventure novel coming out at the end of 2007.

Is there any advice you can give to aspiring authors?

Not really. I'm not one of these authors that was suddenly gifted with knowledge once I became published. I'm still pretty much as clueless as I was back then. Only difference now is that I'm a published clueless person :) I've still got a lot to learn. Thank God for my agent because I'd be floundering in my ignorance. Ok well, I guess that could be my advice to aspiring authors. Hire an agent!