Interview with Erin McCarthy for #LLC 2015

Hi, we are Aurian and Freya, and today we have Erin McCarthy visiting us here in Utrecht, Holland, for the second time.



Of course you want to know, what is LLC 2015? It is short for LoveLetter Convention 2015, and it takes place in Berlin, Germany, on May 2 and 3, 2015. There are lots of German authors attending, but there are also some really nice (and famous!) authors from America, Canada, England and Australia.

We had a blast in the previous 3 years, and to add to the advance fun of the event, we have decided to do some interviews with the authors we will be meeting. Some of them are attending for the first time; others had a great time in a previous year and are coming again! So if you have the opportunity to visit Berlin for some sightseeing, why not attend the convention as well? Or let your family do the sightseeing, and you do the convention. If you want to check it out, here is a link to the website:
http://www.loveletterconvention.com/en/


Our guest today is Erin McCarthy, author of many fun contemporary romances, paranormal romances and New Adult contemporary as well. I love her Vegas Vampires, and her Fast Track series, about hot race car drivers, and her fun Ohio-set books as well. I have not yet read her New Adult series, but some of my blogging friends love them.

Aurian: Welcome back to Utrecht, Erin. As you love cookies, we have stacked up on some old fashioned Dutch ones, especially for you.

Erin: Thanks! I’m glad to be back.

LLC questions

Aurian: You have been to the convention two years ago, in 2013 and it was really nice to meet you in person. What are some of your impressions?

Erin: Everyone was very friendly and polite and I had a great time. It was my first time in Germany and I find it actually looks a lot like Ohio and the Northeast of the States, and the weather is the same. 

Freya: Are there big differences between the more well-known American conventions and this Love Letter Convention? We both would love to visit America one day and attend the Romantic Times Convention or Readers after Dark, but for now that is a distant dream so we are very happy that the Love Letter Convention is so close to home.

Erin: LoveLetter is smaller, so it actually allows the readers and authors to interact more one-on-one. There aren’t the crowded hallways and long lines like there are at RT. But the conventions that are well established in the US have fun nightly parties, sponsored coffee hours, chocolate parties, cocktail parties… lots of food, fun, books, dancing. But without all those distractions Love Letters focuses on the most important aspect of all- connecting readers and authors!

Aurian: Hmm I would love to attend a chocolate party!

Freya: You planned on doing some sightseeing last time, like the Berlin Wall memorial and some musea. Did you manage to visit them all? What did you think/feel? Are you planning on some more sightseeing this year?

Erin: This year I won’t be able to do any sightseeing. I have to return home almost immediately to bring my son back home from university and to attend my boyfriend’s daughter’s high school graduation. So I’m glad I was able to do that last time. I personally felt at home in Berlin, more so than Munich or Zurich, Switzerland. I like the artsy culture and mix of modern and historic architecture in Berlin. The Berlin Wall was very moving.

Aurian: If a person visiting Berlin for the convention could only see one monument/famous building/historical place, what would you recommend?

Erin: Oh, wow, that’s a lot of pressure! I think it completely depends of what their interests are. Art, history, the Jewish museum, so many options.

Book questions

Aurian: I’ve been reading your older books and am loving them, some more Fast Track ones mainly. I love your sense of humor, and your characters in those books.
You have changed a bit in the last two years, writing a Young Adult urban fantasy, the New Adult True Believers series, and you latest books, the Blurred Line series, also sound more serious. The blurbs are appealing to me though, and I want to read them.
I know it is important for an author to keep improving, evolving or else the books are all going to be the same. Are the fun and light contemporaries history, or will you keep on writing multiple genres?

Erin: I’m definitely going to keep on writing multiple genres. After the Fast Track series ended, I needed a break from lighter contemporary romance in order to keep myself fresh as a writer. Right now there is a new series, Nashville Nights, in the works which will be similar to the Fast Track series.

Freya: Our good friend Sullivan McPig loved The Coming Dark, and she would like to know if there is a sequel in the future, or perhaps some other paranormal YA.

Erin: I had originally intended to write a sequel, but I got pulled in other directions. I’m thrilled to hear she enjoyed it and maybe someday I will get back to it.

Aurian: Okay, this is not a question, just an observation. I am not a reader who enjoys lots and lots of love scenes in her books, the steamier the better. I tend to skip those a lot. But I do enjoy reading your love scenes, they fit the story, and they feel so natural. Yes, they are hot but I like them. I admire you for those writing skills a lot.

Erin: I like sex is an important part of a developing relationship and it shows how the characters interact with each other and who they are both together and individually. I don’t want to write sex just for the ‘hot’ factor. I want it to mean something to the story, so thank you. 

Freya: You are a member of the Horror Writers Association. Have you written any horror novels?

Erin: No, not yet. I’m actually planning an anthology right now with some friends who do write horror. Stay tuned!

Aurian: You write a lot of books a year. How many hours do you spend writing during an average day?

Erin: It depends on how close to my deadline I am. LOL. Usually I write 5-8 pages a day, 5 days a week. Closer to the end of the book, I do more.

Thanks for the interview Erin! We do look forward to meeting you in Berlin again.

Thanks! I’m looking forward to returning to Love Letter and I’m bringing more books than I did last time. Lots to go around!

Erin



Where to find Erin on the web:
website: http://erinmccarthy.net/
twitter: @authorerin
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/erin.mccarthy.969?fref=ts

- bio -
USA Today and New York Times Bestselling author Erin McCarthy sold her first book in 2002 and has gone on to pen more than 38 novels and novellas in the paranormal, contemporary romance, and young adult genres. A RITA award finalist and an American Library Association winner of the Reluctant Young Reader award, Erin is a member of Romance Writers of America, Horror Writers Association, and Ohioana.