Entrevista a Maya Banks

¡Hola lectoras y lectores!

Ya os prometo la última de hoy para ponerme al día (lo sé.... lo sé...)

Para la revista RománTica'S Magazzine, en el número pasado entrevisté a Maya Banks, la autora de Éxtasis (el primer libro de la trilogía Sin aliento) y que casualmente he traducido yo al español *guiño-guiño*. 

La entrevista en español la podéis encontrar siguiendo este enlance: 

http://issuu.com/romanticasmagazzine/docs/romanticas_-_024/14

Para la revista en su idioma original, ¡seguid leyendo!

~*~*~*~

Oh, New York, New York… city where the luxury goes and billionaires are real. That’s where I was going now.

What for? You would wonder. Well… I could say shopping or pleasure, but the truth was that Maya Banks was waiting for me to interview her.

Wasn’t that awesome?

She had insisted on meeting at the HCM office building once I settled in the hotel and I could take a break from the long trip. Would Gabe, Jace and Ash be there too?

I really hope so. I was dying to ask them a few questions, mostly about their sexual… activities. A girl never encountered men like those every day!

Maya informed me that the limo would be waiting for me downstairs in exactly two minutes, and I still wasn’t entirely ready for the big moment. What if all that richness was too much for me?  I could have perfectly taken the subway…

Riiiing. Riiiiing.

Moving towards the telephone, I picked it up and placed it over my ear.

“Yes?”

“Miss, your limo has already arrived, and Ms. Banks and Mr. Hamilton are awaiting you here.” The receptionist said.

What? Gabe too?

“Thank you, ma’am,” I answered, my nerves taking over me. “I’ll be down in a minute.”

Taking the elevator downstairs, I tried to take a deep breath and gave myself a little pep talk in front of the mirror; I stepped out and made my way to the long black limo with the driver waiting for me with the door opened. Once I took a seat, I looked up and my breath hitched. Trying to act professional, I cleared my throat, greeted Ms. Banks and Mr. Hamilton and tried not to ogle much.

"So" I started "let's skip pleasantries and start with the good stuff, shall we?". Ms Banks laughed while Gabe merely looked amused, nodding.  "Ms. Banks..."

I was interrupted by the author, who quickly asked me to just call her Maya.

"Alright, Maya, what was your inspiration for this trilogy?" I asked, pen and notebook ready.

*The Breathless trilogy was born of my love for my Sweet Series (an erotic romance series that I  began writing in 2006) and my Harlequin Desire, which I published eight novels for that line. The Harlequin Desires are shorter books and so much fun to write. They usually involve wealthy, dominant heroes. I loved BOTH kinds of books so much that I decided it would be fun to include elements from BOTH kinds of stories into one trilogy. And thus the Breathless trilogy was born!

I like to call them a more eroticized, longer version of my Harlequin Desires, which incorporates my favorite tropes and themes from the Sweet Series. The Sweet Series was more heavily eroticized and included themes of dominance and submission as well as many other erotic themes like ménages :)

Three very strong male characters came to me and I knew their stories had to be told. Three wealthy, alpha, VERY dominant characters who were all single and adhering to their motto of “Play hard and live free.”  That is until they meet the woman they fall head over heels for! And THAT is where the fun began in that trilogy.

 "I see. Basically, we'll be seeing what you," I look pointedly to Gabe "Jace and Ash will go through. "

Gabe gave me a curt nod. Raising an eyebrow, I didn't deter and tried to get him to elaborate. "Your answer is just a nod? I wouldn't think you would be okay with this"

After a few minutes of silence, Maya answered for him. Silently thanking her, I wrote page after page of notes, smiling as I sensed how much passion Ms. Banks put in her work.

" What makes this trilogy different in the genre, what makes it stand out? "

*I think a story can be the same and yet different. That sounds confusing but it actually makes perfect sense. An author can take a theme found in many other books and make it her own by incorporating her unique spin. It all comes down to the characters and for me the MOST important aspect of my novels is the emotion. I like a lot of emotion and for the reader to be able to connect with the characters even if they don’t LIKE them initially.

That’s reality. Not everyone is likable from the very first page. The fun part is the journey of redeeming a character after they make mistakes and the biggest factor is how they make UP for those mistakes. It’s my hope as a writer that by the end of the story, I’ve won them over and that they can then look back and see how and why the characters made the choices they made and how they evolved and grew over the course of the story.

While the stories are EROTIC, the main focus CAN’T be on the sex. Yes, it’s important and is a major part of the story, but the FOCUS has to be on the EMOTION and the ROMANCE in order for the story to work. If you write a really great sex scene but don’t follow it up with emotion and romance and character development then it just becomes a book of meaningless sex and for me as a reader, I find that boring!

I laughed while tucking a lock of my hair behind my ear. Meanwhile, Gabe's still wary, I think. He hadn't talked at all. I directed my next question to him, hoping he'd give me something to go from.

"You know that after the book is released many women will fall on their knees wishing they were Mia, how do you feel about that?"

*Gabe chuckled and gave a rueful smile. “I don’t know that women will wish they were Mia. I made mistakes…” His grimace became more pronounced. “I fought my attraction and love for Mia and drove her away. I was an idiot. But she knocked me on my ass and from the moment she entered into a relationship with me, my world was completely upended. Thank God she was willing to forgive me and give me another chance. I don’t know of too many women who would put up with the stupid mistakes I made and still love me unconditionally. I’m so grateful to have her in my life, and if I have my way, she’ll never go another day without knowing how much she means to me. I plan to spend the rest of my life showing her that she can trust me and that I will never betray her trust or her love. She is it for me. She’s my forever. I can’t explain it any better than that.”

Fair enough, I thought as I jotted down what he said.

"Maya, is there a special message you want to share with the readers through these novels?"

*I just want readers to walk away after reading the trilogy and be satisfied. I want to give them that “happy sigh” you get when you read a really good romance with a terrific ending. I’m hoping they stick with me to the very end and are willing to read through the characters making those HUMAN bad choices and mistakes, just like we ALL do in real life, and be able to see them change and evolve on the pages and BELIEVE in the happily ever after when it comes.

At the end of the day, all I can do is pour my heart and soul into EVERY book I write and write the best possible story that I’m able to at the time. Once the book is finished and out of my hands and to my publisher, the rest is up to the readers. The success of the book is absolutely determined by readers. A writer can pen the best book EVER, but if readers don’t respond well to it or they don’t like it, then it will not be a success, no matter how “good” or “bad” it may be.

Readers are the most important component in an author’s career. Not an author’s agent. Not the author’s editor. And not the author’s publisher. They are all important, but the KEY here are the readers. Period. Without readers, no matter how wonderful an author’s agent, editor and publisher are, the author will not be successful.

That is WHY I value and love my readers so very much. I recognize that without them, I wouldn’t have a career. I would not be able to do what I love most. Write stories that come from my heart. Every single book, I credit its success to my readers. Every book that hits a bestseller list I am quick to attribute that to my READERS and I always tell them that THEY hit the bestseller list because it is them who bought and read the book and recommended it to others. I simply cannot express in any number of words my appreciation for all my wonderful readers who have supported me over the years. And my deepest gratitude to my NEW readers who have only recently found me as my readership continues to grow.

Smiling, I looked down to read the next question for her.  

"Is there a quirk or habit you have while writing?"

*I don’t really have any quirks or habits. But I’m frighteningly linear in my writing. I can’t write out of order. I cannot work on more than one book at a time. I envy authors who can write scenes out of order and then put the book together at the end and I envy authors who can work on more than one story at a time.

I simply can’t. Each book gets my absolute attention and focus. While I’m writing a story, that book gets ALL of my concentration. It’s very important to me to make each book the absolute best book it can be. Sometimes I fail in that regard, but it’s not for lack of effort. It’s just that some books are better than others. It’s a fact of the business and the result of writing close to 60 novels. Not every book will be “the best book ever!” It’s just not possible. And readers are all different and not everyone has the same tastes, which makes it so much fun because everyone has a different reaction to every book. I just have to hope that ENOUGH readers are satisfied with the books that I can continue writing more.

"Ah, I see" I nodded at her and the limo stopped. Surprised, I looked through the tinted windows and realized we were already here. After the driver opened the door, we stepped out and made our way to the office, pausing to briefly greet Eleanor. Once Gabe closed the door after us, we saw Mia waiting, seated in her chair. She immediately came to us and didn’t hesitate to engulf me in a hug. Blinking, I put my arms around her, grateful she at least seemed more open.

After we took a seat and waited for Jace and Ash to arrive, I looked at Mia and asked her if it's okay to add her to the interview. She nodded and waited for my question.

"Have you ever imagined you would end up like this, with a man like Gabe by your side?"

Color flooded Mia’s cheek and she glanced quickly at Gabe. Her eyes softened with love and they glowed with happiness. She returned her gaze to me, a bright smile on her face.

*“Did I ever imagine? Well yes, I suppose I dreamed about it. I’ve had a mad crush on Gabe since I was a teenager, much too young for a man like him. But he was always in my fantasies for sure.”

Gabe sent Mia a look that made me shiver with its intensity. It was obvious that Gabe had no issue with Mia admitting that he’d starred in many of her early fantasies. I suddenly felt like an intruder into something extremely intimate and personal.

*“But to answer your question more clearly, no. I never dreamed that Gabe returned my attraction or that he’d thought of me. I thought I was doomed to a life of unrequited love. I didn’t think he would ever look at me as anything but his best friend’s baby sister. Thank God he finally woke up and smelled the coffee!” she finished with a laugh.

Gabe rolled his eyes but smiled in Mia’s direction. “As long as I get to smell the coffee with you every morning, baby.”

Mia beamed, and once again, I felt like I was intruding into something infinitely personal. I had taken enough of their time, and so I started to wrap up the interview.

"Okay, I think I have enough with this. Thank you so much for cooperating” I looked pointedly at Gabe but turned to Maya. "Is there something you would like to say to your Spanish fans?"

*I am THRILLED that the Breathless trilogy will be translated and published in Spanish. I’m so looking forward to seeing what my Spanish readers think of the trilogy. It’s my hope that they’ll love it and will want to continue reading me when I publish my next trilogy :) I’ve only JUST signed another contract to write another trilogy that will release in 2014 in the U.S. and I’m crossing my fingers that my Spanish publisher will want to pick that trilogy up as well so that my Spanish readers can have MORE of my stories!

Sending much love and hugs and kisses to all my Spanish readers. I’d love to hear from you! You can visit me on my facebook page at www.facebook.com/authormayabanks where I often post snippets from books before they are released so readers get hints of what the stories will be about. We also dish books and have lots of fun discussions, so please do come by and like the page so you can join in the fun!

You can also follow me on twitter. There I am @maya_banks with the underscore between maya and banks

And of course you can always look up my website, www.mayabanks.com to find information on upcoming releases and what I’m currently working on. I have a “coming soon” page that I keep updated with up-to-the-minute information. As soon as I get information, I pass it along to my readers so they don’t have to wait!

"Thank you, Maya. I'll be sure to relay the message," I said, smiling gratefully at her. They had been treating me like a princess; I'd been staying at the hotel, fully pampered, and now there's a whole day planned to see some of New York's sights and enjoy my stay. I couldn't wait.

Yuliss