Maisey Yates first sold to Harlequin in 2009. Her Harlequin Presents debut was His Virgin Acquisition and since then, she has written 43 books for Harlequin across various lines. What she loves most about writing for Harlequin is the fabulous editors and the incredible art department! Such a creative and supportive group.
Find @maiseyyates on Twitter, vist her on Facebook and check out her blog!
1. What book first got you hooked on Harlequin? The Tycoon’s Trophy Wife by Miranda Lee was my introduction to Presents, and from there I read as many as I could get my hands on!
2. How did you celebrate selling your first manuscript? We had to do registration for my son for school that day, so we did that. Then went shopping at Target for school supplies and my husband told everyone we saw that I’d just sold to Harlequin! Then we ordered Chinese food and ate a big dinner at my parents’ house.
3. Which of the many books you’ve written has stayed with you the most and why? That’s such a hard question to answer! A few have really stayed with me for different reasons. The Inherited Bride was such a tough book to write and I think it grew me as an author, so I love that one. Her Little White Lie was the first book I wrote that made me cry so hard I had to walk away from the computer to compose myself. Part Time Cowboy was the first book I wrote set in the world of Copper Ridge and I’ve fallen so deeply in love with that world that the book holds a special place in my heart.
4. What’s top of your TBR pile? Oh, I have so many! At the Count’s Bidding by Caitlin Crews, Make You Mine by Jackie Ashenden and Between the Devil and Ian Eversea by Julie Anne Long to name a few!
5. What book do you wish you’d written and why? What I Did For a Duke by Julie Anne Long because it is perfect in every way!
6. What’s harder – first or last lines? Last lines for sure!
7. How do you choose your characters names? Sometimes they choose their own names. I have a upcoming character named Tabitha and she chose that name for herself. She just WAS a Tabitha. Sometimes it’s a lot of googling and trawling through baby name sights.
8. How do you push through writer’s block? I don’t believe in writer’s block! Some days I feel like writing, some days I don’t, I have to do it anyway. If something feels blocked then it usually just means my characters don’t have a goal, so there’s nothing driving the story. That’s when I have to go back and do more work on my character.
9. What’s the best career advice you’ve ever had? I’ve been given so much wonderful advice by so many generous people it’s hard to choose just one thing. But the one I really LIVE by is: No matter what, write the next book.
10. Your preferred writing snack? Pita chips. And dry cereal. Not healthy cereal: Lucky Charms.
11. Who is your favourite fictional couple? That’s hard too. I love Maddy and Christian from Flowers from the Storm and Vin and Kara from Having Her.
12. If you could rewrite your life, what would you change? Well, I think it goes without saying that I would write illness right the heck out of it. 🙂 Otherwise? Nothing, as cliché as it sounds. All of the financial worries and things like that really brought my husband and I closer together, so I consider the trials part of our triumphs.
13. What would your readers be surprised to know about you? I’m a small town girl! Which I think is less surprising now that I’m also writing the small town romances, but my Presents readers might be surprised to learn that until a couple of years ago I’d never even BEEN to a big city!
14. What is your most overused word? I have a little Yates drinking game over the words: And, but, because, massive and… * cringe*
15. If I wasn’t a romance author, I would have liked to be…A singer. I love to sing. I was actually doing that before I wrote.
16. When was the last time you said ‘I love you’? Earlier today. We say it a thousand times a day around here. With three kids, my parents next door and a wonderful husband there are so many opportunities!
17. What does love feel like? When I really stop to feel it, it’s like something huge and expanding that fills my whole chest. Overwhelming and fantastic.
18. What’s your guiltiest pleasure? I don’t feel guilty about pleasure, I enjoy it!
19. What’s your most romantic song? I love anything by Dierks Bentley, his lyrics are incredible. But my husband (Haven Yates) writes songs, and he’s written a few for my books, and we’ve done some duets together. So that’s got to be the most romantic!
20. Every hero needs a… I can’t finish that sentence without being a little rude. 😉
Make sure you check out Maisey’s most recent book for Harlequin Presents, Sheikh’s Desert Duty, available now!
We hope you enjoyed this Interview with… post! Check back in on Monday for more great author insights as we launch our My Ultimate Crush column – kicking off with fabulous Harlequin Romance/ Harlequin Medical Romance author Scarlet Wilson!
