We're wrapping up Published Author's Month here at WordWranglers, so a big thank you to all of our guests - published authors, readers and aspiring writers as well. Today, I'm chatting with Aimee Carson, debut author with Harlequin/Mills & Boon's Riva line. Aimee's debut book will be out this fall! Very exciting!!
Aimee, to start off, tell us a little about you: where are you from? I was raised in Florida, spent 3 years in Alaska, 10 months in Seattle, and currently live in the Black Hills of South Dakota. And did you always want to be a writer? No. I’ve been an avid romance reader since I was eleven years old. It wasn’t until 2005 when I exchanged my full-time pediatric job for part-time locums work that I took up writing.
Your debut novel is coming out in the fall from Harlequin/Mills & Boon's Riva line...are you pinching yourself? Daily!! I count myself incredibly lucky to have two jobs I absolutely adore.
Tell us about your publishing journey - was this your first book or have you been working toward publication for a long time? This was my seventh manuscript. I have been writing and studying the craft for six years. I don’t think that qualifies as a “long time,” but it sure felt like forever!
What is it about the romance genre that really gets you (in a good way!)? The range of emotions and the story possibilities are endless. And whether you like sci-fi, paranormal, historical, or contemporary, there is a romance series that’s got you covered. Regardless of the setting, I love the spark of attraction, the playful banter, and the feel-good buzz of falling in love. I get a real kick out of living vicariously through the characters!
You have an interesting day job - physician in the Alaskan bush - and a family and now you're adding published author to the mix...how do you fit everything in? Three words: chronic sleep deprivation. LOL. Just kidding. I have a very strict writing schedule. Every day I write from 3am until 7am when it’s time to wake the kids or—if I’m up in Alaska—it’s time to go to work. I was never a morning person until I started writing. I find I’m most creative before the day gets started and my brain is fresh.
Where do your story ideas come from? Everywhere! Books, magazines, newspaper articles, movies, and TV shows. I also spend a lot of time in airports during my commute to Alaska and I’m a die-hard people watcher. Often snippets of conversation will fire my imagination—so be careful what you say around me!
For our writer friends, what is the one piece of knowledge you wish you'd known about romance publishing that you didn't when you started out? Actually I simply wish I’d known how addictive writing romance is because, published or not, you’d still find me at my computer every morning at 3 am—coffee in hand, of course!
Tell us about your debut release... My debut will be out in the UK in October in a four book anthology called Mills and Boon Loves . . . This will include three other Mills and Boon authors: Maisey Yates (Modern/Harlequin Presents), Barbara Wallace (Harlequin Romance), and Leah Ashton, another debut author who recently received the call to join the Harlequin Romance/Riva line. The title of my book is Secret History of a Good Girl:
Miami hotel tycoon Paulo Domingues suspects that beneath his new events planner Alyssa Hunt’s southern priss, she’s all passion! He’s determined to seduce the fire out from behind her good-girl exterior…
What is coming up after your debut? I’m really excited about my second book. How to Win the Dating War will have its Riva release in December of 2011
Thanks for having me here today!
Aimee, to start off, tell us a little about you: where are you from? I was raised in Florida, spent 3 years in Alaska, 10 months in Seattle, and currently live in the Black Hills of South Dakota. And did you always want to be a writer? No. I’ve been an avid romance reader since I was eleven years old. It wasn’t until 2005 when I exchanged my full-time pediatric job for part-time locums work that I took up writing.
Your debut novel is coming out in the fall from Harlequin/Mills & Boon's Riva line...are you pinching yourself? Daily!! I count myself incredibly lucky to have two jobs I absolutely adore.
Tell us about your publishing journey - was this your first book or have you been working toward publication for a long time? This was my seventh manuscript. I have been writing and studying the craft for six years. I don’t think that qualifies as a “long time,” but it sure felt like forever!
What is it about the romance genre that really gets you (in a good way!)? The range of emotions and the story possibilities are endless. And whether you like sci-fi, paranormal, historical, or contemporary, there is a romance series that’s got you covered. Regardless of the setting, I love the spark of attraction, the playful banter, and the feel-good buzz of falling in love. I get a real kick out of living vicariously through the characters!
You have an interesting day job - physician in the Alaskan bush - and a family and now you're adding published author to the mix...how do you fit everything in? Three words: chronic sleep deprivation. LOL. Just kidding. I have a very strict writing schedule. Every day I write from 3am until 7am when it’s time to wake the kids or—if I’m up in Alaska—it’s time to go to work. I was never a morning person until I started writing. I find I’m most creative before the day gets started and my brain is fresh.
Where do your story ideas come from? Everywhere! Books, magazines, newspaper articles, movies, and TV shows. I also spend a lot of time in airports during my commute to Alaska and I’m a die-hard people watcher. Often snippets of conversation will fire my imagination—so be careful what you say around me!
For our writer friends, what is the one piece of knowledge you wish you'd known about romance publishing that you didn't when you started out? Actually I simply wish I’d known how addictive writing romance is because, published or not, you’d still find me at my computer every morning at 3 am—coffee in hand, of course!
Tell us about your debut release... My debut will be out in the UK in October in a four book anthology called Mills and Boon Loves . . . This will include three other Mills and Boon authors: Maisey Yates (Modern/Harlequin Presents), Barbara Wallace (Harlequin Romance), and Leah Ashton, another debut author who recently received the call to join the Harlequin Romance/Riva line. The title of my book is Secret History of a Good Girl:
Miami hotel tycoon Paulo Domingues suspects that beneath his new events planner Alyssa Hunt’s southern priss, she’s all passion! He’s determined to seduce the fire out from behind her good-girl exterior…
What is coming up after your debut? I’m really excited about my second book. How to Win the Dating War will have its Riva release in December of 2011
Thanks for having me here today!
Wow, what an interesting life! Congratulations on your books and your new direction. I used to write a schedule somewhat like yours and have to admit it was my most productive time.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Hey, Aimee!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the second book. I'm trying really hard to create a morning schedule as well. I've never been a morning person.
Can't wait to read your first book!
Abbi :-)
Thanks for squeezing us into your packed schedule! Do you feel like now that you have your foot in the door at HQ, you have a place there for life? And do you have an agent?
ReplyDeleteHi, Aimee! Thanks for being here with us today. Can't wait to see your book on the shelves... Good luck!!
ReplyDeleteWow! I admire anyone that can write at 3 in the morning. I've never been a morning person. Good luck to you. Wishing you many sells!
ReplyDeleteWow!
ReplyDeleteI'm tired just reading that schedule!
Thanks for visiting!