Hi Maggie! I am so happy to welcome you to my blog today and looking forward to learning more about you and you’re upcoming release ALTHEA’S AWAKENING – Let’s get things started with my questions…
1.)
Do you use pictures as inspiration at the start
of a book?
Not usually. But I’ve been
known to people watch and make up a story around them. I saw 4 guys walking
from a hotel dinner – around 30, lean, attractive – and I immediately thought –
there’s a series of young millionaires just waiting to be written. 😊 I haven’t gotten around to
that one yet, but as you can see, it resurfaces now and then. One day…
2.)
What is your favourite period drama?
I confess I don’t have one.
3.)
Are the titles of your books important?
Only to the extent that they
attract the reader enough for them to buy or at least look at the blurb. I’d
say the same about covers. Seriously, I don’t care what a reader wants to call
my books, if she/he/they read them! My editor changed the title of my second
book and I thought it was an improvement.
4.)
If you’re struggling with a scene or difficult
character, what methods help you through it?
I write a sex scene, LOL. I
edit some out later, but if I can find a way for the characters to connect in
such an intimate way, and see what that sex scene looks like – is it angry, or
bittersweet, or super romantic? – I can often figure out where I need to go.
If it’s more of a character
arc thing, I tend to call one of a few critique partners and hash it out with
them, as they’ll often already be aware of the overarching goal, motivation and
conflict for my characters as well as some of the plot.
5.)
Are you an early bird or a night owl?
Early bird. I can’t write
after 6pm unless it’s NaNo and I’m under the gun for word count, or I have an
editing deadline. Because of my tendency toward productivity in the morning, I
also schedule my workouts then, as I’m more likely to actually succeed in doing
them. Then my words get squished into the middle of the day or afternoon. The
only way I can make that work is writing with my friends on the West Coast (2
hours behind me) and Hawaii, so I have accountability. 😊
6.)
Who’s your favourite author? Why?
This is a completely unfair
question. I am tempted to refuse to answer. Gah! Who has one favourite?
Here are a few. Annabel
Joseph – particularly her Properly Spanked Regency series – was my inspiration
to write in this subgenre. They meshed the Regencies that started my love of
romance, my mum’s British ancestry, and the spice that mostly shows up in
contemporaries. Yum!
Cherise Sinclair did a
fantastic job of introducing readers to BDSM while keeping the focus on love in
her Masters of the Shadowlands series.
7.)
Do you have a pet peeve?
Well, everyone hates typos,
but my real pet peeve is continuity in a book, and I live in fear that I’ll
mess things up during edits. Hair color, jacket off then magically on, a change
of day, car, whatever.
My husband would probably tell
you I have a few others, like him bouncing his leg in my vision, but I’m going
with continuity.
8.)
Can you tell me a little about your next
project?
Why yes, thank you for
asking. Book
3 in my School of Enlightenment series comes out April 26. The deliciously steamy Regency series focuses
on a school that teaches women to take their future and their pleasure in their
own hands. I wrote Book 3 in response to a poll in a ‘hot historical romance’
FB group that indicated readers loved voyeurism.
Book 3 is Althea’s
Awakening. It is about a widow with
no knowledge of carnal desire, a rake bored with even the most hedonistic pleasures,
and a game of truth or dare…
Blurb & Buy Link:
Althea’s Awakening (School of
Enlightenment Book 3)
A widow with no knowledge of carnal
desire, a rake bored with even the most hedonistic pleasures, and a game of
truth or dare…
Lady Althea
Egerton’s late husband secured her independence when he left her his
apothecary. After two years of growth, she is ready to expand the business…if
she only had capital. Finding a wealthy husband would solve that problem, but
Althea refuses to subjugate herself to another man. She prefers an
investor. Unfortunately, the only one she knows
is the golden god of hedonism, and his help comes with a price.
Evan Gardner, Earl
of Cheltenham, is bored. At twenty-eight, he has no equal in business,
politics, or seduction. None of them hold his interest. Even his annual
week-long orgy disguised as a house party leaves him cold. Yet the prudish
widow, who wants only his money, intrigues him. As neither of them
wants the trappings of marriage, a dalliance with the elegant widow
might be just the challenge he’s been searching for.
Though Althea cannot
resist the lure of ecstasy he offers as condition for
his assistance, a continued liaison could risk her
reputation and her store’s profits. To win this negotiation, Evan will have to
ensure she can have both independence and pleasure.
Universal buy
link: books2read.com/Althea
Maggie bio:
Maggie Sims began her love affair with romance
before her teen years, drawn to the Regency by her mum’s British influence. In
her twenties, she did her best to live the Carrie Bradshaw life in New York
City, albeit with less expensive shoes and more books.
Despite reading hundreds of romance novels in
her life, she was still blown away when she met the love of her life, an
ex-Marine cinnamon roll with creative woodworking and culinary skills.
Having retired from corporate life, they live in
Central Texas and are parents to a varying number of dogs and cats. When
not writing, Maggie is a wine enthusiast, a travel junkie, and a romance
reading fiend. She also sporadically crochets for KnotsofLove.org and
does just enough exercise for that second glass of wine at night.
To find out more about Maggie’s latest reads,
favorite wines, and travel destinations, and to get a free prequel novella to
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