Win a print  copy of Sultry with a Twist.

 Today we shine the spotlight on Macy Beckett.  Amanda had the pleasure of interviewing her and reviewing her great book Sultry With A Twist.

Welcome to Guilty Pleasures. I had the pleasure to read and review Sultry with a Twist and loved it. This is your first novel and new to everyone. Tell us a little about yourself. What did it take to become an author?

MB: Thank you so much—I’m glad you enjoyed it! As for me, I left a teaching career to stay home with my little ones, which is what led me to write. I have an English degree, but I saw writing as work, not play. It wasn’t until I’d been home for 4 years and found myself hungry for intellectual stimulation that I decided to put pen to paper…or fingers to keys, actually. There was definitely a learning curve—I rewrote my first novel 5 times before it sold—but I have to admit that my journey to publication has been pretty smooth. (Knock on wood)

 

What is a typical day for you?

MB: I wake up around 7 am, drink my coffee, check email, and make sure my kids get dressed and eat breakfast. Then I’m packing lunches and getting them shuttled to their destinations. I return home and work for a few hours before picking up my youngest from morning preschool. After he’s home, I write in bits and pieces while he’s napping or playing. I usually work at night after the kids are in bed, too. Isn’t that boring? I keep telling myself I’ll take a break soon, but there’s always another book clawing its way out of my head.

 

Do you listen to music while you write? A certain place? Or time?

MB: I usually need silence to write, but I listened to a lot of Jack Johnson while drafting Sultry with a Twist. And Stevie Ray Vaughan, of course. June’s crazy about him. 🙂

 

Where do your ideas come from to write your stories? What motivates you to write? What inspires you? Do you see a card or commercial and see a story?

MB: Most of my ideas come to me in the shower—no lie. June and Luke appeared to me while I was washing my hair one day, and I had to build a plot around them, which wasn’t easy. There are eleventy billion romance novels out there, and everything’s been done. It took me several weeks to come up with the idea to send June back to Sultry Springs over a bogus warrant. As for what motivates me to write, I’m a very driven lady. (See #2) I set daily goals and don’t allow myself to go to bed at night until I’ve met them. If you want a career in publishing, you have to treat it like a job—and get the job done, no matter what.

 

Are your characters based on real people? And are you in your characters?

MB: No, my characters aren’t based on real people, but there’s a little part of me in each of my heroines. For example, like June, I lived in Austin, enjoyed many nights bar-hopping along Sixth Street, and I LOVE Stevie Ray.

 

Do you plan your characters and storyline? Or do the characters tell you where to go when you write? Have you ever had to scrap a part of the book because it wasn’t working?

MB: I plot the main points of the story and spend a week or two on in-depth character sketches before I begin drafting. This keeps me from veering too far off course and having to scrap much work.

 

Do you see yourself writing another genre of romance? Romantic suspense or maybe historicals?

MB: I already do! I write sci-fi romance for young adults (under my super-secret true identity, Melissa Landers). My ALIENATED series is coming in February 2014 from Disney Hyperion.

 

What do you like to read? Favorite authors? Favorite book?

MB: I find that I need to read in whatever genre I’m writing. For example, when I’m drafting an adult romance, I read other contemporary romances. When I’m drafting a YA, I read books targeted at teens. I tend to get into trouble if I don’t. I was reading some M-M-F ménage while working on the second Sultry Springs book, and my editor sent the manuscript back with a comment that the book seemed “raunchier” than the first one. Oopsie! I had to go back in and tone it down a little.

 

Favorite movie?

MB: Hmm. That’s tough. I’m going with a comedic classic: Monty Python’s Holy Grail.

 

What is romance to you?

MB: To me, romance is finding ways to show our partner how much we care. We tend to get lazy and take our loved ones for granted—it’s romance that keeps the spark alive.

 

What else is coming soon from you? What are you working on now?

MB: If you enjoyed Sultry with a Twist, you won’t want to miss Trey’s story, A Shot of Sultry, coming in March and now available for pre-order. (I love Trey. He’s so funny, at least inside my head.)

 

I love to read erotica and I consider that my guilty pleasure. What is your guilty pleasure?

MB: My guilty pleasure is watching Tosh.O and South Park. I should’ve grown up and abandoned that sort of low-brow humor by now, but I haven’t. Don’t judge. 🙂

Thanks so much for having me today. It was a pleasure, and I hope our virtual paths cross again soon!

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Macy Beckett writes hot and humorous romances set in Sultry Springs, Texas: where first loves find second chances. Her debut novel, SULTRY WITH A TWIST, http://www.amazon.com/Sultry-Twist-Springs-Macy-Beckett/dp/1402270364 is now available in stores, and two more Sultry Springs romances will follow in 2013. Macy loves to hear from readers, so feel free to say hello on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/AuthorMacyBeckett  or via her website. http://macybeckett.com/

 

Sultry With A Twist Description:
When Mae-June July Augustine hightailed it out of Sultry Springs, Texas, with her heart in pieces, she swore she’d never return. But nine years later, one thing stands between June and her dream of opening an upscale martini bar: a month of community service under the supervision of the devilishly sexy Luke Gallagher, her first love and ex-best friend. As lust turns to love, June must decide where she belongs: in the glorious anonymity of Austin or back in Sultry Springs with the man who intoxicates her like no other.

 

 

 

 

 

 CONTEST TIME

Leave a comment for Macy. One lucky commenter will win a print copy of SULTRY WITH A TWIST. US and Canada only.  Winner will be selected  using random. org on 10/19/12.