Interview with Maya Banks, our tenth author for LLC 2013!

Hi, we are Aurian from Boeklogboek and Maia from Boekenlijstjes, and today we have best selling author Maya Banks visiting us here in Utrecht, Holland.

Of course you want to know, what is LLC 2013? It is short for Autoren Love Letter Convention 2013, which takes place in Berlin, Germany, on May 25 and 26, 2013. Maya Banks is one of the British romance authors attending. We had a blast this summer, so we immediately bought the tickets once they became available for next year’s convention.



Our guest is Maya Banks, author of numerous novels in the genres: historical romance, romantic suspense and erotica. We both love her KGI books very much, and Maia has also read some of her erotica. And I still have her hot Highlanders to devour.
We met Maya Banks and her assistant Telisa last year, and even went out to dinner with them! It was fun, and we loved hearing Maya Banks talking about her books and ideas. So when the site was updated with new authors, and Maya Banks was again on the list, that made us even more happy.

Aurian: Welcome to Utrecht, the Netherlands, Maya. Have some hot chocolate and some Dutch chocolates.

Maya Banks: Thanks! I love hot chocolate and I know Telisa would just steal all the Dutch chocolate from me haha (Aurian: we will make sure we bring enough chocolate for the both of you then!)

Maia: Can you tell our readers who might not yet know you or your books, a little about yourself? Something that is not in your official bio (which is at the bottom of this post).

Maya Banks: There’s not a whole lot about me that readers don’t already know lol. I lead a very boring existence! Most of my time is spent at home working and writing. I get out for my son’s baseball games and my daughter’s softball tournaments. We’re often gone every weekend watching one or the other play. My travel schedule is a bit heavier in the past year, so it’s been fun to get to meet readers and hang out with them.

LL Convention questions

Aurian: Could you tell us why you are attending the convention in Berlin, Germany, Europe, again? I know we had a blast last year, but how was it for you as an author? What are some of the differences with American conventions?

Maya Banks: The Love Letter conference was an awesome opportunity to meet and talk with readers whom I ordinarily wouldn’t get the chance to meet. The conference was wonderful and beautifully executed and had a more intimate feel than many of the U.S. conferences. I love having the opportunity to return and meet returning readers as well as getting the chance to say hello to new readers who weren’t able to attend last year’s event.

Maia: The convention is in Berlin, a beautiful city. Are you planning to do some sightseeing, or are you going shopping again? In Berlin or even in the rest of Europe?

Maya Banks: It will be a fairly quick trip for me. I’ll be flying in Friday morning and then out again Monday morning just because it’s a really busy time of the year for me! My oldest son graduates high school right after I return from Berlin so unfortunately there won’t be an opportunity to be able to travel more while I’m there.

Aurian: There's a lovely group of authors coming this year. Are there any new authors for you to meet?

Maya Banks: I honestly don’t know what the list of attending authors is! I haven’t had time to really check it out. I do know that Vivian Arend is going. This will be her first time to the conference and as we’re great friends, it will be nice to be able to catch up with her while I’m there.

Book questions

Maia: I’ve bought the original Coulter series as ebooks. Those were among the first I ever bought! But now they are published in print by Samhain. Did you rewrite them, or are they exactly the same?

Maya Banks: The first three books of the Colters’ Legacy series were published in digital and in print from Samhain publishing. I reissued Colters’ Woman through the same publisher in 2010 to expand and revise that original version in front of the two sequels that would be published, Colters’ Lady and Colters’ Daughter. Colters’ Woman has new content and was revised and re-edited. There is a new short story at the end of that book called Callie’s Meadow, and there is also an expanded “ending” to Colters’ Woman that wasn’t there in the first book.

Colters’ Promise and Colters’ Gift are both published with a different publisher. Colters’ Gift will release November 5th of 2013.

Aurian: I’ve read the first 5 KGI novels, and loved them all. You really drag me into the story, from the first sentence you capture my attention, and I just have to find out what happens on the next page. You make me believe in those broken persons, and how they heal and find love, and dare to believe and hope again. But those women always have a backbone, they don’t let the hero run their lives, and I love that especially.
Will one of the Kelly boys ever fall for a not-tortured heroine, but one with a normal day job and loving family in the village? Perhaps one he has known for years already?

Maya Banks: Steele’s heroine is a non tortured heroine with family and a job that’s taken her around the world. But I do love tortured heroines and I certainly can’t promise that the rest of the heroes in the series won’t fall in love with a damaged heroine :)

Maia: Are you a big believer in love at first sight? As far as we have read your books, all your heroes know: “this woman is the one!” at first glimpse.

Maya Banks: I love romances that when the hero meets the heroine he falls hard and he falls fast and he knows that she is THE ONE. It’s my favourite trope and is the backbone of many of my stories, the KGI series especially.

Aurian: You already write books in 3 different genres. Are there any other genres you would like to explore some day? I know you will be extremely busy the coming years already.

Maya Banks: Not that I can think of. I certainly won’t rule it out but for now I’m kept quite busy with the historicals, the romantic suspenses and the contemporary erotic romances. I’ve written a few paranormals earlier in my career and I love paranormals that are set in the real world and only have one character with paranormal abilities. I’d love to write more of those types of books.

Aurian: What is next on your writing schedule?

Maya Banks: I’m working on the next historical and then I’ll be writing Donovan’s story, the 8th book in the KGI series.

Personal questions:

Maia: We both have enormous TBR mountain ranges, how big is yours? And what do you plan on reading next?

Maya Banks: I have hundreds and hundreds of books I haven’t gotten to yet. I also have hundreds of books that I’ve already read but like returning to when I need a comfort read. I’m not sure what I’m reading next. I haven’t had a lot of time and it will depend on my mood when I’ve finished my deadline.

Aurian: What would you be if you could not be an author?

Maya Banks: I honestly can’t answer that. I worked in the medical field for several years before turning to writing but it’s not something I’d ever want to return to. I can’t imagine doing anything else BUT writing and I hope it’s a question I never have to really answer!

Aurian: Who are some of your favourite authors? Do you still have the books you loved reading as a young girl?

Maya Banks: I love Christine Feehan, Julie Garwood, Sharon Sala’s older books, Linda Howard’s older books, Elizabeth Lowell’s older releases, Lisa Marie Rice, Shannon McKenna and many many others.

And now for some fun quick questions:

Are you left-handed or right-handed?
Right handed

What is your favourite movie, and which is the last one you saw in the theater?
I can’t even answer this! I love really over the top action movies. But I never go to the theatre. I actually don’t watch a lot of television at all! And when I do I tend to prefer documentaries. I hate slap stick comedy. They make me cringe! And I refuse to watch horror movies. I don’t mind suspense thrillers but gory horror movies don’t do it for me at all.

Are you a morning person or a night owl?
Definitely NOT a morning person.

What famous author, dead or alive, would you love to meet and why?
This is one question I’m never able to answer simply because I’m terrible in social situations, so even if I could think of an author I’d love to meet, I wouldn’t want to do it because I would feel terribly awkward meeting them!


Official bio:
My name is Maya Banks and I live in Texas with my husband and three children and our assortment of pets. I’m more of a cat person, but my daughter became convinced she NEEDED a dog. So convinced in fact that it became her mission to convince her father and me. She prepared a two page handwritten proposal that detailed WHY she needed a dog, and well, after I sent her to her father (I knew he wouldn’t tell her no) we embarked on the search for the perfect dog. The journey that was two hours away and that I got pulled over for speeding while I was on the phone with my agent who had an offer from a publisher for one of my books… The officer wasn’t impressed. He wrote me a ticket anyway. Thus, I now tell my daughter that her dog turned into one very expensive concession! But isn’t he cute?

When I’m not writing, I love to hunt and fish with my family. We all love the outdoors and go on family hunting trips every year. We also love to travel. One of our more recent trips was to Scotland, which was every bit as comical as National Lampoon’s European Vacation. You know the part about “Look kids, Big Ben, Parliament” as they went round and round the roundabouts? Yeah, that was us, only we couldn’t even get out of the airport in Glasgow without hitting three of those suckers.

Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of a writing career is getting to meet so many wonderful readers. There’s nothing better than dishing books with someone who loves the romance genre as much as I do. Romance readers are passionate and vocal. We love our books, love our happily ever afters, and we love to spend time talking to others about our favorites. THIS is why I love my job so much, and I’m so grateful to readers who gave ME a chance when I began my career. So thank you.
Love, Maya.

Where to find Maya?
http://mayabanks.com/website
twitter: @maya_banks
http://www.facebook.com/AuthorMayaBanks?ref=ts&fref=ts
Facebook

Maya’s next book is Forged in Steele, the seventh novel in the KGI series (which I love!) which will be available in June 2013.



The Kelly Group International (KGI): A super-elite, top secret, family-run business. Qualifications: High intelligence, rock-hard body, military background. Mission: Hostage/kidnap victim recovery. Intelligence gathering. Handling jobs the U.S. government can't...

Steele, a KGI team leader, is an enigma not even his teammates understand. His emotions are tightly locked down and nothing can break that icy exterior. Nothing except Maren Scofield, a doctor on a mission, a woman who has gotten under Steele's skin and threatens to crack that unflappable cool he's legendary for.
Steele is determined not to allow Maren past his carefully guarded defenses. But when she's in danger, there's no way he'll allow anyone else to protect her.
Maren's hiding something. He's sure of it. But he isn't prepared for the shocking discovery her secrets reveal. Or how they will forever alter the course of his destiny. He has a decision to make. Hold tight and shut her out. Or take a chance on something more powerful than he's ever faced: Love.