We are in for an awesome treat today. We have a two part interview with Maya Banks. One part is a video interview with Sarah, and the second is a written interview Maya gave us.
TBRG: Welcome to our site Maya, we’re excited to have you here.
MB: Thanks for having me!
TBRG: Who has been the biggest influence on your writing?
MB: Julie Garwood for sure. I’ve always said that everything I learned about writing I learned from her. She makes every single character in her books interesting. Even if they only occupy the space of a single page, she makes them colorful and vibrant. It’s something I’ve tried to do in my own books and make every single character and page count.
TBRG: What is the one thing your readers would be the most surprised to know about you?
MB: What a total introvert I am lol
TBRG: Where is the one place you have always wanted to go, a place on your bucket list?
MB: On safari in Africa
TBRG: What was the first romance book that you read?
MB: I started reading romance at a VERY young age so I can’t say with authority what my FIRST was but I remember some of the first romance authors I read. Violet Winspear, Penny Jordan and Virginia Henley
TBRG: Who are some of your go to authors, and what are you reading right now?
MB: Julie Garwood, Christine Feehan, old school Linda Howard, Kristen Ashley, old school Sharon Sala
TBRG: If you weren’t writing and keeping us in books (thanks for that by the way), what would you be doing?
MB: I have no idea! Writing is what I’ve always wanted to do and I can’t imagine (don’t want to imagine) what else I’d be doing!
TBRG: What is your guilty pleasure?
MB: I have no guilty pleasures simply because I refuse to feel guilt over enjoying something lol.
TBRG: Do you watch tv or listen to music when you’re writing? What do you watch/listen to?
MB: I rarely ever watch television. Couldn’t even tell you what the popular shows are. I’m totally ignorant of pop culture! And I like quiet when I write. I’m easily distracted and if I listen to music, I’d end up singing along and then I lose my focus.
TBRG: Are you a planner, a fly by the seat author or a combination of the two?
MB: I’m so not a planner. I mean I’ll have a kernel of an idea but mostly I figure it out as I go.
TBRG: How did you come up with The Breathless Trilogy?
MB: I simply married traits from the Sweet Series and my Harlequin Desires, took what I loved most about both kinds of books and put them together!
TBRG: Tell us about the series?
MB: I basically liken the Breathless trilogy to a more eroticized Harlequin Desire. It’s the same KIND of story, just more explicit. But just as much fun to write and of course I got to make them much longer than a Harlequin Desire because Desires have very specific word count specifications. I had a lot more freedom when writing the Breathless trilogy, a fact that I really enjoyed!
TBRG: Tell us about Ash and Josie.
MB: I really enjoyed Ash and Josie. Josie was a different sort of heroine, one I thought was perfect for Ash. She was free spirited, independent. She knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to reach out for it. Ash is a very intense character, much moreso than he appears on the surface so it was fun to delve beneath the surface and bring out the real Ash.
TBRG: If they only had 5 adjectives to describe each other to a stranger what would Ash and Josie use?
MB: Ash would say about Josie, beautiful, creative, passionate, free spirited, mine. Josie would say about Ash, intense, loving, caring, driven and protective.
TBRG: Would you ever consider writing a novella sharing Kai and Brittany’s story?
MB: I don’t know! I hadn’t considered it to be honest.
TBRG: We know from your FB updates you’ve finished Colter’s Gift and are working on After the Storm. Can you give us any hints about Donavon’s story? What else are you working on?
MB: Donovan’s story is what I call a quiet love story. There isn’t a lot of action (at first) I always knew that Donovan’s story would be quieter and passionate. That when he fell, he would fall heart and soul and that nothing would deter him from his goal of making the heroine his. He isn’t disappointing me!
TBRG: We want to thank Maya for dropping by today. We had a lot of fun getting to know more about one of our favorite authors.
MB: Thanks again for having me!
