I recently had the chance to chat with a talented author.  So, without further delay let’s hear from the talented

Maya Banks

Did you always know that you would one day be a writer?  Was writing something you always enjoyed?
I always knew I’d write, just not that I’d choose to make a career of it or actually get paid to do it. I’ve loved writing since I was a child.  I started writing full length novels around ten or eleven and would write them long hand in my notebooks.  It wasn’t until after the birth of my third child, though, that I decided to write for more than just my own enjoyment.

Are you able to write full-time or do you have to balance a pesky “day job,” also?
Writing is definitely my full time job.  No way I could juggle a day job with the writing commitments I have.  Currently, I have nine contracted books with Berkley HEAT, Berkley Sensation, Silhouette Desire and Samhain Publishing and I have no shortage of story ideas so I’ll be busy for a good long while!

Tell us what makes Maya tick?
Lol!  That’s a trick question.  And I’m not sure of the answer to be honest.  I’m pretty easy going and laid back. I don’t get worked up over much.  I love what I do and the freedom that it gives me in other areas of my life.  My husband and I are very spur of the moment, and we’re fortunate that both our jobs allow us to feed that need to “get up and go.”  I’m pretty adventurous and at times I get extremely restless.  It’s really bad when both me and my husband are restless at the same time because then there is no stopping us ;)

You have two writing personas, Maya Banks and Sharon Long, do you find it difficult to balance the two?  What are the main differences between the two?
I do have a few Sharon Long books, but she’s sorta fading away and Maya is taking over.  That sounds so evil!  In the beginning, Maya was the name I chose for my erotic romances and Sharon would write anything else.  The only differences, besides genre, is mainly sexual content, because I think otherwise, the stories are very similar.  Voice, emotion etc.

Maya sort of took off, though, and when I sold to Berkley Sensation we kept the Maya name instead of going with Sharon even though the books aren’t erotic, and then the final nail in Sharon’s coffin came when I sold to Silhouette Desire. I felt certain that they’d want me to use Sharon since Maya is a pen name for erotic romances, but they were quite happy for me to write as Maya.  Soooo now everything is written under Maya Banks :)

What was the best piece of advice you received when starting out?  Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
I’m trying really hard to remember advice I may have been given.  I didn’t really have any published mentors coming up.  Instead, it was interesting because I came up with a group of unpublished authors, sort of like a graduating class or something.  Interestingly enough, we sold very close together

As for advice for aspiring writers.  Hmmm, this is my biggest thing and it’s about protecting my voice.  I’m extremely protective of it to the extent that I’ve never had a lot of critique partners or “fingers in the pot” as I call it.  It’s not that I don’t think I need help but at the end of the day, my books are uniquely my own and I want them to fail or succeed BECAUSE they’re my books, not a story written by a dozen critique partners.  So I guess I would say to be careful not to lose, in the processing of editing and critiquing, the unique spark that makes that book yours.

Tell us some of your favorites…foods, movies, authors, books, television, music, colors, and any others you would like to share.
Foods…anything barbeque. Southern comfort foods.  As for movies, I love action flicks with lots of violence and blood shed and blowing shit up.  The worst punishment you could inflict is to make me watch a chick flick or some family drama.  I love big movies with lots of special effects.  The Mummy movies are like the best evah.  Television?  I don’t watch it much at all.  Couldn’t even tell you what the current shows are.  HATE sitcoms *shudder*  I’ve been watching CSI on DVDs but I’m only up to season six and it’ll take me years to get through them all.  Favorite color. Orange, hands down.  You can’t look at orange without it making you happy!

Elizabeth Lowell and Julie Garwood are two of my favorite authors.  Sharon Sala.  Omg I love her.

Do you enjoy hearing from your readers?  What is the best way to contact you?
I do. I keep every single reader email I receive and I answer all of them (so if you sent me something and I didn’t respond, it’s because I didn’t get it!)  Best way to contact me is via email at maya@mayabanks.com but you can find me at the Writeminded Blog http://www.writemindedblog.com  and also at the Writeminded Readers Yahoo Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/writeminded_readers

What is the most unique/unusual thing about you?
Uhmm hmmm I’m pretty average and boring.  Of course if you ask Joy, the most unusual thing about me is that A. I love deer hunting and B. I spent my honeymoon in a tree stand. 

A tree stand on your honeymoon?  I am sure there has to be a great story behind that J!

I read that you are a true southern lady…do you incorporate your southern upbringing into your characters and their stories?  What is your favorite thing about being from the south?
Lady?  Oh dear.  I doubt I’d ever be considered a lady. I curse too much for that. I do love living in the south and I love bringing that influence into my books. As for my favorite thing…I can’t really pinpoint ONE thing and say that’s my favorite. It’s everything.  The people, the slower pace.  We often have a different way of looking at things down here.  I’ve lived all over the south, and every time I venture above the Mason Dixon, I swear I won’t do it again lol.

Do you have a perfect writing environment or can you write anywhere?  Do you have a writing schedule that you follow and what does it involve?
Amy Knupp would laugh her fool head off at the notion that I had ANY sort of a schedule.  Organization gives me hives.  As for perfect writing environment, no, I have a big, fat, fluffy chair in the living room that I like to write in. (It’s where I’m sitting to answer these interview questions) I also have office space in my bedroom with a desk and comfy chair, but I don’t use my desktop nearly as much as my poor, overworked laptop.

I still write in notebooks for every story at some point.  I take them with me when I pick up the kids in the afternoons and scribble several pages in the car line.  Anytime I’m stuck or am feeling cranky with the computer, I’ll write in my notebook. It’s very comforting.  It was the way I wrote for many, many years.

How do your story ideas develop? With a scene, a character, a piece of dialogue, or in some other way?
All of the above. It changes from story to story and I never come up with two stories the same way. Sometimes it’s a dream.  Sometimes it’s a snippet of a scene, just one that sticks in my head and I’ll build an entire story around it.  Sometimes a character will be born in my head and will stay until their story comes to me.

How would you spend a perfect day if you could do anything that you wanted?
This changes depending on my mood *g*  Some days I’d love nothing more than to be camping in the Rockies or fishing a perfect trout stream. Other days I’d rather be in the beach surf fishing with my feet in the water and endless blue skies.

In the fall, it could be a terrific day hunting.  In the winter, it could be sitting in the living room in front of the fireplace.  In the spring it might be watching my kids play baseball and softball and in the summer a perfect day is wherever adventure takes us :)

Writing romance, do you believe in happily ever after and have you found yours?  Was it love at first sight?
Oh absolutely.  I don’t feel I could write believable love and emotion if I didn’t believe in it myself.  I wouldn’t say that it was love at first sight with me and my husband.  We were friends first which is why I have such an affection for friends to lovers stories. He’s truly my best pal on earth.  We do everything together.

You write in several genres, do you have a favorite?  Is there something that you would like to try that you haven’t?
Hmm I’d have to say contemporaries are my favorite, which is pretty funny when I consider that a few years ago, the mere thought of writing a contemporary ANYTHING filled me with panic. I was so used to writing historicals that I didn’t feel as though I COULD write a contemporary. Now I can’t imagine writing anything else.

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?  Current or upcoming releases?
I have a May release from Samhain called Stay With Me and also a June Samhain release called Reckless, which is a stand alone sequel to Brazen.  This fall, the second book in the Falcon Mercenary Group series will release (Into the Lair) and in November, my third Berkley HEAT story airs (Be With Me) and I’m very, very excited about this book.

In January, my debut with Silhouette Desires will be on shelves.  It’s been a long time dream of mine to write for Harlequin so I could not be more thrilled!

In 2009 I’ll debut a new series with Berkley Sensation which is all about the Kelly brothers and the trouble they get into.