New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Maisey Yates lives in rural Oregon with her three children and her husband, whose chiseled jaw and arresting features continue to make her swoon. She feels the epic trek she takes several times a day from her office to her coffee maker is a true example of her pioneer spirit. In 2009, at the age of twenty-three Maisey sold her first book.
Since then it’s been a whirlwind of sexy alpha males and happily ever afters, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Maisey divides her writing time between dark, passionate category romances set just about everywhere on earth and light sexy contemporary romances set practically in her back yard.
She believes that she clearly has the best job in the world.
Interviews
Interview with 2016 RITA Winner Maisey Yates
JULY 25, 2016 / THELIBRARIANTALKS
Why did you choose to write in your particular field or genre?
I got into writing romance because it’s what I love to read. Which I think is ideal. It’s important to love what you write.
How long have you been writing?
I’ve been published for six years. But from the moment I first learned how to write I’ve been writing stories, and I’ve always made stories up in my head. I can’t ever remember not doing that.
What cultural value do you see in writing/reading/storytelling/etc.?
I think it’s suc a wonderful thing to be able to share ideas through writing. And with fiction I think we have this wonderful opportunity to create characters that are unlike the reader, but who the reader can empathize with. I always hope that can teach us that we, as people, want the same things, mostly. That we’re more alike than we are different.
What do you think most characterizes your writing?
Banter is a big part of my books. Dialogue is kind of my engine. I write very character driven books, so internal conflict is always the focus of my romances. The things inside the hero and heroine that they have to deal with before they can be together.
What was the hardest part of writing this book? Balancing secondary characters and setting with the romance. I never want those other elements to overtake it, but they need to be present too.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
Building the relationships with the characters. The main romance between the hero and heroine, but also the heroine’s friendships, and the hero’s really complicated family stuff were really fun to write.
What did you find most useful in learning to write?
What was least useful or most destructive? The most useful thing for me as a writer was being told to always write the next book. On submission? Write the next book. Get rejected? Write the next book. Bad sales? Write the next book. Always move forward. Always keep writing.
I think the worst thing for me was being in a creative writing class in college full of people who just didn’t write. There was more focus on sentence structure than story, and while that’s fine, the most beautiful sentence on earth doesn’t matter very much if it’s part of a book that never gets finished, and can therefore never be read. (Though ultimately I think seeing that was good for me!)
Are you a full-time or part-time writer?
How does that affect your writing? I’m a full time writer. Which means I get to immerse in my books while I work on them. That also means I can get obsessive and sometimes have to be dragged away from the computer.
What are some day jobs that you have held?
If any of them impacted your writing, share an example. My other jobs include: Barista and a bridal gown salesman, which was like Say Yes to the Dress. We actually dressed the brides. In both cases I think meeting people and hearing their stories has definitely impacted my writing. I’m a collector of other people’s experiences.
What do you like to read in your free time?
I’m a Historical romance junkie. Julie Anne Long, Elizabeth Hoyt, Lisa Kleypas, to name a few. My favorite contemporary romance authors are Nicole Helm and Jackie Ashenden. Megan Crane for fantastic erotic dystopian Vikings, which are unlike anything I’ve ever read, and the world is captivating.
What projects are you working on at the present?
I’m working on the next book in my Copper Ridge series, which introduces a new family, the Donnellys, and their cattle ranch.
What do your plans for future projects include?
More Copper Ridge. Right now I’m contracted for two more full length trilogies, and four more Copper Ridge Desires, which are under 200 pages, and make for a nice quick read. I’m also continuing to write for Harlequin’s Presents line, where I’m doing a contemporary fairy tale series.
Just as your books inspire authors, what authors have inspired you to write?
Harlequin Presents was really what got me into writing and finishing manuscripts. Miranda Lee, Penny Jordan, Sarah Morgan and Trish Morey to name a few of the authors who really grabbed hold of me.
Is there one subject you would never write about as an author?
What is it? I sort of refuse to say never. The minute I say: I would never! Is the moment I’ll have to use a certain theme to serve the story/characters.
What do you want your tombstone to say? She hath done what she could.
