Author Spotlight: Milaya Marks

We're very pleased to welcome Milaya Marks to the Minxes of Romance blog today. Milaya's new release, the deliciously steamy, Spanish Heat, is available now from Wild Rose and Digibookscafe under the Wilder Rose imprint.  Here's some info about Milaya:
Milaya Marks's devotion to romance began early, when she read every teen fiction she could get her hands on if it contained even the faintest hint of a love story. In love with the idea of being in love, she graduated to historicals and contemporaries not long after (often hiding the evidence under her dorm bed so she wouldn't have to share). She had her own fairytale romance when she met and married her husband in college, and today Milaya is living her dream of writing steamy erotic romances while enjoying daily life with her very own hot hero.

And now, some Minx questions need answering - go Milaya!

1. Where were you in your writing career 5 years ago?

I didn't have a writing career 5 years ago! I was an avid romance reader, devouring a couple of books per week, but I was still telling myself and my close friends “I think I could do this. I should try doing this.” It wasn't for 3 more years after that that I finally put pen to paper and drew up a few outlines for stories. Once I had some bare bones outlines together I started writing and that first outline grew into Spanish Heat.

2. Where did you get the idea from for this particular book?

I was on holiday with my husband in Lanzarote, and I knew at the time that it was the perfect setting for a hot romance. Everywhere I looked there was gorgeous scenery, beautiful people and temperatures so hot it made sense to strip down to almost nothing. The perfect recipe for an erotic romance!

3. Where do you hope to be in 5 years time?

When I look ahead I know I'd like to be a multi-published author. At the moment I'm writing shorter stories, but I hope to branch out into longer novellas and novels soon. If I could make a real living from my writing that would be a dream come true.

4. Which was the last book you read that you wish you'd written?

I just finished Rachel Gibson's Nothing But Trouble. I laughed out loud all the time, and fell in love with the both the hero and heroine. Completely brilliant story all around.

5. Was there any particular author or book that made you want to be a writer?

As a teenager I stumbled onto a series of historical romances written specifically for teens. They were known as the Sunfire series, and each book had a teen heroine who found herself in the middle of a great event in American history and having to choose between two young men. I loved those books so much I would beg my mother to take me to the bookshop on Friday afternoons after and then speed through my newest acquisition in a couple of hours. That series was really the first time I remember closing books and thinking “I wish I could write something like this.”

6. Do you find writing love scenes giggle-worthy or cringe-worthy?

I think my long history of reading romances, particularly erotic romances, served me well when it came to writing love scenes. I remember getting mad at myself for over-thinking the scenes when I first started writing them. Really it was all very academic for me at the start. But if someone interrupted while I was writing then it became a bit cringey. I probably looked up from my laptop red-faced a time or two!

7. What's the most romantic moment of your life so far?

My marriage proposal. My now husband took me to my favourite beach in the winter, just after a snowfall, and got down on one knee. He made the most beautiful speech about why he wanted to spend his life with me, and when I said yes and jumped on him to hug him, a woman farther down the beach clapped for us. I'd thought we were alone, but having her there and so happy for us (total strangers!) made it even better.

8. What do you wish you'd known about being an author before you were pubbed?

Writing is important, but re-writing is key. Intellectually I'd know this before I started writing, but I never really understood the importance of re-writing until I went through the whole revision process with my editor.

9. What's the best writing advice you've ever been given?

Don't stop. Just keep going and your writing will find a home. Whether it's 10 days from now or 10 years from now, if you don't stop you'll eventually get to where you want to be.

10. Tell us about your latest release.

Spanish Heat just went on sale on 15 May, so grab your copy quick!
Eager to end her dry spell, sexually deprived Serena Ryan craves fun in the sun with an anonymous hottie. Her first overseas assignment--write a guidebook on the balmy Canary Islands--supplies the heat and the opportunity. An afternoon of steamy sex with a virile stranger takes the edge off until she discovers he is none other than hotelier Antonio Delgado. Her hopes of an uncomplicated fling go up in smoke as their passion rises, along with the Spanish Heat.

11. What’s next for you?

I'm in the middle of working on a second erotic romance with my Wild Rose Press editor, so with a little luck another Milaya Marks romance will be out soon!



Thanks for the interview, Milaya!

You can purchase Spanish Heat here.

Milaya's Website to keep current on releases and learn more about Milaya:  http://www.milayamarks.com/

You can follow Milaya on Twitter, where she is @MilayaMarks