IT'S GUEST AUTHOR SATURDAY!! Please welcome historical romance author Maggie Sims...

 

Hi Maggie! I am so happy to welcome you to my blog today and looking forward to learning more about you and you're upcoming release ALTHEA'S AWAKENING - Let's get things started with my questions...

1.)           Do you use pictures as inspiration at the start of a book?

Not usually. But I’ve been known to people watch and make up a story around them. I saw 4 guys walking from a hotel dinner – around 30, lean, attractive – and I immediately thought – there’s a series of young millionaires just waiting to be written. 😊 I haven’t gotten around to that one yet, but as you can see, it resurfaces now and then. One day…

2.)           What is your favourite period drama?

I confess I don’t have one.

3.)           Are the titles of your books important?

Only to the extent that they attract the reader enough for them to buy or at least look at the blurb. I’d say the same about covers. Seriously, I don’t care what a reader wants to call my books, if she/he/they read them! My editor changed the title of my second book and I thought it was an improvement.

4.)           If you’re struggling with a scene or difficult character, what methods help you through it?

I write a sex scene, LOL. I edit some out later, but if I can find a way for the characters to connect in such an intimate way, and see what that sex scene looks like – is it angry, or bittersweet, or super romantic? – I can often figure out where I need to go.

If it’s more of a character arc thing, I tend to call one of a few critique partners and hash it out with them, as they’ll often already be aware of the overarching goal, motivation and conflict for my characters as well as some of the plot.

5.)           Are you an early bird or a night owl?

Early bird. I can’t write after 6pm unless it’s NaNo and I’m under the gun for word count, or I have an editing deadline. Because of my tendency toward productivity in the morning, I also schedule my workouts then, as I’m more likely to actually succeed in doing them. Then my words get squished into the middle of the day or afternoon. The only way I can make that work is writing with my friends on the West Coast (2 hours behind me) and Hawaii, so I have accountability. 😊

6.)           Who’s your favourite author? Why?

This is a completely unfair question. I am tempted to refuse to answer. Gah! Who has one favourite?

Here are a few. Annabel Joseph – particularly her Properly Spanked Regency series – was my inspiration to write in this subgenre. They meshed the Regencies that started my love of romance, my mum’s British ancestry, and the spice that mostly shows up in contemporaries. Yum!

Cherise Sinclair did a fantastic job of introducing readers to BDSM while keeping the focus on love in her Masters of the Shadowlands series.

7.)           Do you have a pet peeve?

Well, everyone hates typos, but my real pet peeve is continuity in a book, and I live in fear that I’ll mess things up during edits. Hair color, jacket off then magically on, a change of day, car, whatever.

My husband would probably tell you I have a few others, like him bouncing his leg in my vision, but I’m going with continuity.

8.)           Can you tell me a little about your next project?

Why yes, thank you for asking. Book 3 in my School of Enlightenment series comes out April 26.  The deliciously steamy Regency series focuses on a school that teaches women to take their future and their pleasure in their own hands. I wrote Book 3 in response to a poll in a ‘hot historical romance’ FB group that indicated readers loved voyeurism.

Book 3 is Althea’s Awakening. It is about a widow with no knowledge of carnal desire, a rake bored with even the most hedonistic pleasures, and a game of truth or dare...

Blurb & Buy Link: 

Althea’s Awakening (School of Enlightenment Book 3)

 

A widow with no knowledge of carnal desire, a rake bored with even the most hedonistic pleasures, and a game of truth or dare…

 

Lady Althea Egerton's late husband secured her independence when he left her his apothecary. After two years of growth, she is ready to expand the business...if she only had capital. Finding a wealthy husband would solve that problem, but Althea refuses to subjugate herself to another man. She prefers an investor. Unfortunately, the only one she knows is the golden god of hedonism, and his help comes with a price.

 

Evan Gardner, Earl of Cheltenham, is bored. At twenty-eight, he has no equal in business, politics, or seduction. None of them hold his interest. Even his annual week-long orgy disguised as a house party leaves him cold. Yet the prudish widow, who wants only his money, intrigues him. As neither of them wants the trappings of marriage, a dalliance with the elegant widow might be just the challenge he’s been searching for.

 

Though Althea cannot resist the lure of ecstasy he offers as condition for his assistance, a continued liaison could risk her reputation and her store’s profits. To win this negotiation, Evan will have to ensure she can have both independence and pleasure.

 

Universal buy link:  books2read.com/Althea

 

Maggie bio:

 

Maggie Sims began her love affair with romance before her teen years, drawn to the Regency by her mum’s British influence. In her twenties, she did her best to live the Carrie Bradshaw life in New York City, albeit with less expensive shoes and more books.

Despite reading hundreds of romance novels in her life, she was still blown away when she met the love of her life, an ex-Marine cinnamon roll with creative woodworking and culinary skills.

Having retired from corporate life, they live in Central Texas and are parents to a varying number of dogs and cats.  When not writing, Maggie is a wine enthusiast, a travel junkie, and a romance reading fiend.  She also sporadically crochets for KnotsofLove.org and does just enough exercise for that second glass of wine at night.

To find out more about Maggie’s latest reads, favorite wines, and travel destinations, and to get a free prequel novella to her first series, sign up for her newsletter. Or just follow her on social media.

www.maggiesims.com

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