The Romance Readers Connection would like to welcome
back Emily McKay as an Author of the Month for May 2008.
With several books completed since she was last with us,
the most recent being BABY ON THE BILLIONAIRES DOORSTEP,
this is our chance to catch up with Ms. McKay.
BABY ON THE BILLIONAIRES DOORSTEP is a story of Dex,
Lucy and baby Isabella, I couldn't help smiling on how
great it was to see a strong no nonsense man like Dex
fall for that irresistible baby. You sure kept this
reviewer on her toes wondering just how the story would
end, it was surprising , but it also turned out exactly
as it should have.
Gloria: Congratulations on the release of your new book!
I have to say that I really enjoyed reading about these
two brothers. How did you decide to come up with a story
involving the two of them and a baby? Have these two
been in your head for awhile, or did they just appear
out of nowhere?
Emily: About a year ago, I became intrigued with the
idea of Safe Haven laws. In almost every state, there
are designated locations (hospitals, fire houses, police
stations) at which a mother can legally abandon her
baby. As a mother, I couldn't help wondering what would
drive a person to that. And how it would affect not only
the baby, but all the people involved.
Eventually, I came up with these two brothers--rich,
powerful, and completely out of their element when it
came to dealing with children. I knew they were the
perfect guys to end up with this baby on their doorstep.
Gloria: Speaking of the brothers, will you be writing
Derek's story soon, and when will it be out?
Emily: I'm just finishing up Derek's story now. It'll be
out in October.
Gloria: Since you were last with us in 2003, can you
bring our readers up to speed on what's been happening
with you? How had your career changed since the release
of BABY, BE MINE?
Emily: Well, the biggest change is that I now I write
for Silhouette Desire. When Harlequin Temptation closed,
a lot of the authors moved to Blaze, but I moved to
Desire because I'm drawn to the more traditional story
lines like you see in Desire. It's been a great move for
me because I think my writing fits the line well. I
loved writing for Temptation, but Desires are a lot of
fun too!
Gloria: In that last interview with us, you mentioned
that you were not thrilled with your attempt at Romantic
Suspense. Have you decided to give it a try since then?
Is there any other genre you might want to try your hand
at?
Emily: I've been toying with an idea for a single title
paranormal series that would have suspense elements in
it, but I still don't know that I'm any good at writing
suspense. It's tricky balancing suspense with romance.
I'm no expert, but it's something I'm trying.
There are a lot of great writers in the romance/fantasy
genre. I've just finished Maria V. Synder's Fire Study,
the third in her Study series. And I really enjoyed
Elizabeth Vaughan's Chronicles of the Warland series.
I'd love to try something like that while still working
on Desires.
Gloria: On your website, it says that you enjoy baking
and that cookies are your most favorite (aren't they for
us all!). What are the best cookies to bake? Do you
follow a recipe or just throw it together and see how it
turns out?
Emily: I guess for me baking is like my writing process.
I definitely need to know where I'm going before I
start! That said, I'm always willing to throw in a dash
of nutmeg or handful of chocolate chips just to shake
things up a bit.
Gloria: How is your writing schedule, would you consider
yourself a disciplined writer? What is your favorite
time of day to write?
Emily: I'm fairly disciplined. When I'm working on a
book, I do at least five pages a day, every work day
(and two to three pages a day on weekends). I'm not
someone who can still down and do thirty pages in one
sitting, once a week. That means I've got to do a little
bit every day.
As for time of day, late at night works well for me,
after all of my distractions are in bed (mainly my two
kids). But I never feel like I can assume everyone will
go to bed early while I'm still alert enough to get my
pages done. So try to do my pages early in the day. That
way if everyone does go to bed on time and get to
squeeze a few extra pages into the day, those are just
bonus pages.
Gloria: Out of everything that you've written, what has
been your favorite book? And who is your most
challenging character to write?
Emily: My favorite book was probably Her Wildest Dreams,
a Mills and Boon Modern Extra release (now available in
the Best of Makeovers Bundle as a Kindle release). I
just really loved those characters. But I really love
Dex, Lucy and Isabella from Baby on the Billionaire's
doorstep also. They were so much fun to write,
especially Isabella, the baby. Now that I have children
myself, writing a baby was a lot of fun.
As for who's been the most challenging ... that might be
Derek, Dex's brother and the hero from Baby Benefits. I
knew readers would have expectations for what his story
would be like and I really wanted to make sure I did him
justice.
Gloria: Like so many of us, you've been a reader since
your young teens. What was the last book you read just
for pleasure? Do you have a favorite book and authors?
Emily: Like I mentioned I just finished Fire Study, it
was really excellent. Susan Elizabeth Philips' This
Heart of Mine is probably my all time favorite book. But
I also love Suz Brockmann's Troubleshooter series.
And--this isn't romance, but it's still excellent!--Jim
Butcher's Harry Dresden Chronicles.
Gloria: What would your dream reading room be like?
Emily: Well, I can read anywhere (and often do). But I'd
love to just have enough bookshelves to house all of my
books. Right now they're stacked all over and I'm
completely out of room.
Gloria: Thank you, Emily, for taking time out from your
busy schedule to talk with us. Is there anything else
that you might like to share with our readers? Next book
release perhaps???
Emily: "Baby Benefits", Derek's story, will be out in
October. After that it's "Wedded into the Billionaire's
Dynasty, the second book in the Hudson's of Beverly
Hills continuity, out in February of 2009.
Gloria: Best wishes for the continued success in your
writing career!
Emily: Thanks so much for having me as the May Author of
the month!(Click for a review of
BABY ON THE
BILLIONAIRE'S DOORSTEP) |
