Interview

Hi Kelly and Welcome!   Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to interview you for Romance Junkies.   First, can you let us know what projects you are currently working on?

 

Right now I’m starting a story that will be part of a series with the other Deliciously Naughty Writers (Sierra Dafoe, Anna J. Evans, December Quinn and Sherrill Quinn) if the series gets accepted.   Other stories I’ve got in bits and pieces are a historical erotica and a sequel to my last Amber Heat book, CIMMEREAN LEAGUE:   REVELATIONS.

 

What does your writing schedule look like? Do you have to plot or do you write as it comes?

 

My writing schedule leaves a lot to be desired J   After being “off my feed” for the last six months thanks to a number of major life changes, I’m working writing back into my life.   I don’t place any time limits on myself, but I shoot for approximately 500 words per day and that is usually less than an hour.   Keeping myself that few words helps cut down on the possibility of burn out, with which I’ve had ample enough experience.

 

What is the easiest part of the writing process for you? How about the most challenging?

 

The easiest part is coming up with germs of stories.   I’ve got a lot of little ideas sitting in the back of my head.   The hardest part, other than coming up with the darn title, is forcing myself not to be so impatient with trying to write the story.   Once again, that threat of burn out.

 

Do you name your characters first or do they have to have a personality before they are named? How do you choose their names?

 

Usually I name my characters first, but a couple of times I’ve had them show up in my mind almost completely fleshed out, just needing a name.   For first names, I usually go with what sounds good by saying it out loud.   I’ve been known to go over to my baby name book and randomly open up the book and place my finger down.   When that happens, I’m rarely off by more than one place.   I’m also a fan of the phonebook for last names.   For my latest story though, I knew some characteristics that my hero and heroine *had* to have and I went looking for names that reflected those.   This story is going to be part of a series with my promotion group if we get a go ahead on our proposal.

 

How long does it take you to write a book? Have you ever developed writer’s block? What do you do to overcome it?

 

I’m one of those “it depends” authors.   At my fastest, I’ve averaged 2000 words a day and managed to win the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in 2004.   However, this has led to burn out.   I wouldn’t say writer’s block because the stories are there waiting for me, I just have not wanted to work with them.   I also kept writing during that period, but that writing was for my day profession or my private blogs.   In times previous, I’ve come back to writing when I felt ready.   I’m back writing again, once again because I feel ready, but this time I’ve instituted that limit of how much I’m allowing myself to write per day.

 

How do you feel that romance novels have evolved over the years? What do you feel are the best changes?

 

I remember when I was probably in kindergarten or first grade standing in line with my mom at the grocery store fascinated by the covers of the books there.   Women and men partially dressed in poses that seemed to hurt them.   They were a novelty for me because my mom’s not a big fiction reader and my dad only read science fiction, fantasy or spy novels when he read fiction and none of the ones he read had such lurid covers.   When I started reading romances, I started with teen/YA romance.   I then “graduated” to adult romances and read some books that had been reprinted from the mid-80’s (this was the early to mid-90’s by this point).   I remember reading some of them and thinking, “why the heck is she putting up with this behavior?!?!?!”   Now that I think back on my early experiences, the covers I was so fascinated by reflected what readers of the time were looking for in their stories.   Romances have, for the most part, evolved to reflect society’s changing attitudes and values.   For a former anthropologist, it’s a very tempting line of inquiry J

 

As for the best changes, I think it’s great that readers have so many options available to them.   We make our choices known and we can see the market responding.   Sometimes a little overenthusiastically, but we can see we have power.

 

At what point in your career did you develop your website? Do you find it a useful tool in promoting your books?

 

 I made my first website about five years ago.   I kept it up for a year, but when it became evident that I was not going to be selling any time in the future, I decided to abandon it.   I also realized I wanted to keep my fiction writing separate from the writing I do for my day profession.   I bought the kellymaher.com domain at the beginning of 2005 and pointed it to my blog which is hosted at Blogspot.   Since Blogspot’s free, I was only out the $30 or so bucks it cost me to register my name for three years.   In early 2006, I decided I may as get a web hosting service in case I actually got picked up by one of the three publishers I’d submitted three different stories to at the time.   I’m glad I did as about a week later I found out the first story had been accepted and within the month I’d sold all three.  

 

I find my website to be *extremely* helpful in promotion.   It’s allowed me an easy way to keep readers updated with information on my books and as an electronically published writer, I need to be readily available on the Internet.   And thanks to that availability, I’ve come across more Kelly Mahers than I ever knew existed.

 

Do you use a pen name? Why or why not? If you do does the name have a special meaning to you?

 

I do use a pen name, once again to keep my fiction and day profession writing separate.   A number of my colleagues know what I write, so it’s more of an open secret.   I took Kelly as my first name because our beloved family pet was named Kelly and my mom used to mix up our names.   It was bad enough when my mom would call me Kelly, but when she started calling Kelly by my name…   I’ve also used Kelly for those awkward times in bars when I’ve been hit on by guys in front of the guy I’m with.   Maher is my great-grandmother’s maiden name.   My grandmother has told me so many stories about herself, I really wish I could have known her.   She really was a woman ahead of her time.   And yes, I have told my grandmother I’m using the name and why J   She gets a kick out of it, despite being a very devout Catholic.

 

What is one thing that you yearn to learn but haven’t gotten around to yet? What are some hobbies that you have?

 

One of these days I’m going to get around to learning how to bellydance, if only for the exercise benefits.   Until then, my biggest hobby is knitting.   I’ve posted some of the things I’ve done to my writing blog because I can’t help sharing.

 

If your life were a movie, what would you call it? What would the theme song be?

 

LOL! The theme song readily comes to mind: “Don’t Fear the Reaper” as I have a fairly morbid bent.   December Quinn and I joke that we need to get together to let my inner-goth girl and her inner-punk girl out and play.   The movie title is much harder because I have such a hard time with titles in general.   Hmmm…what to say that won’t totally freak everyone out?   How about “Innocence Unmasked”.

 

What is the last book you read that left a big impression on you?

 

Just because I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did: MISTRESS OF THE ART OF DEATH by Ariana Franklin .

 

MORE FUN…

What was the first author you got hooked on?

 

The Brothers Grimm, but if you mean romance, Nora Roberts

 

Who was your first celebrity crush? Is he still hot?

 

John Philip Law (The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming), and I have no idea because he seems to have fallen off the face of the earth.

 

Who would you love to meet? What would your conversation be about?

 

My great-grandmother about what it was like to not get married until her thirties and then raising a child as an older mother in the early 1900’s, and what was life like for someone with her strong sense of self.

 

What kind of music do you listen to? Do you have a favorite band?

 

I tend to listen to hard rock, but will do pop, especially BritPop.   I have a number of favorite bands, but the ones so far that have yet to really let me down are Foo Fighters, Linkin Park, Texas, and Robbie Williams (I break down and buy from AmazonUK for the last two).

 

Thank you Kelly for a wonderful conversation.   Best of luck with your writing career!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Kim Atchue-Cusella

Romance Junkies Publishing Editor

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