Harlequin Medical Author Amy Andrews with a Giveaway!

Today I’m honored to be hosting Harlequin Mills & Boon Medical Author Amy Andrews.

Amy, thanks for agreeing to do this interview. It's great to have you here!

 Great to be here, Nas. Wow! Your blog has gone from strength to strength!!

Thanks! So we asked Amy her views ...On Writing and Reading…

So, when did you start to write, how long did it take you to be published, and how did you decide which genre to write?

I wrote my first book when I was 22. I scored my first contract at 34. 12 years!!! I always knew I wanted to write romance and the only house I was interested in targeting was Harlequin – why not target the publishing house that had the biggest distribution and readership in the world?? My first book wasn’t a medical but it did have a Dr hero. I’m a firm believer in writing what you know so when I discovered that Harlequin had a medical line I targeted them.

I bet all that juggling of jobs, relationships and commitments gives you plenty of fodder for your books. What sparks your creativity?

Anything can spark an idea. I think writers are great observers aka eavesdroppers. Anything is grist for the mill!

What do you love most about being a writer?

Having my work acknowledged by an established publishing house as being worthy of print. And knowing that I can make a lot of women smile/laugh/cry/vibrate :o) with a couple of keystrokes.

Do you write under a pen name? If so what was the motivation to use one?

I was asked to write under a penname. Alison Roberts also writes for the medical line and the eds didn’t want there being any confusion.

Where do you write? Home office.  Coffee shop etc.

Home mainly. I do like to get out and about when I can and have been known to edit in coffee shops etc. But its editing only – when I’m writing I can't do ANY distractions!!

Do you have a favorite locale or setting for your novels? What is it and why is it your favorite?

I usually set my books in my hometown of Brisbane. I’d like to say it was because of the outstanding attributes of this great city but to be honest I’m such a lazy researcher, I try to stick with what I know! I have set books in faraway places – war zones, tsunami ravaged Pacific islands, Italy, UK – but I feel most comfortable, most authentic, writing about what I know.

Which of the books you have written is your favorite?

Well I know we shouldn’t have a favorite but I do… The Surgeon’s Meant-To-Be bride. It’s in a 24 hour format, each chapter is an hour of the day and the action takes place over 24 hours. I loved writing that book – it simply flew from inside of me and its probably the best black moment I’ve ever written!

On Romance...

Describe the ultimate romantic meal.

A beach, chilled wine, seafood and sticky date pudding!!!

What is your all-time favorite romantic movie?

I don’t have one, I simply can't, there are so many .… okay, if you put a gun to my head I think I would chose Notting Hill but only because the ending stands out as probably the best ending to a romcom I’ve ever seen – I never get tired of that press conference scene!!

What is your all-time favorite romantic song or composition?

Well I love the soundtrack to Notting Hill :o)

What is the most romantic gesture or gift you have received? Ocasionally I get a “just because” bunch of flowers and they beat any expensive showy Valentines delivery hands down

How do you keep the romance alive in your relationship? Sleep. If I have enough sleep then I can be pretty much convinced to do anything :o)

What tip would you give your readers to make their lives more romantic? Sleep. ;o)

No seriously….if you’re with the right person, romance is secondary!

Where is the most romantic place you’ve ever traveled? Italy – no contest!

Tell us something about yourself people may not expect or know. I can do the splits!

WOW! Really?

To finish up, do you have any advice/handy tips/craft skills you'd like to share with unpublished authors?

 Be smart. Do not waffle around as I did. Read heaps, hone your craft, find out what publishing house is publishing the stuff you want to write and target them specifically, enter comps, join a writing group, get a good crit partner (and by that I mean someone who is writing/reading in your genre, do not get a poet if you are writing fiction or a romance writer if you are writing seventeenth century literature!!!), don’t take the easy way out if you know you can do better. Do everything you can to help get you over the line. Treat the time your unpubbed as an apprenticeship and learn all you can.

NOW TELL US ABOUT YOUR BOOK

Just One Last Night is a reunion story (my fav kind) Grace and Brent are old university flames. They meet again after twenty years during a time when Grace is struggling to be a stand-in Mum to her orphaned niece and nephew - a traumatized little boy and a rebellious teenager – and juggle the demands of being an ER doc. Brent has made her complicated life a whole lot more complicated!! But can she resist his pull the second time round?

Thanks for sharing your insights about writing and some fun facts about your life, Amy, it's been a honor having you here.

It’s been fun chatting with you, Nas!

 And I will give away a copy of Just One Last Night to one lucky commenter!

You can read my review of Just One Last Night here!

All you have to do is leave a comment or question for Amy and you'll go into the draw for this book.