Guest Author: Yvonne Lindsay
Both she and I are Pisceans—supposed to be very creative, imaginative people and very much dreamers, and my guest, Yvonne Lindsay, says she always dreamed about writing romance. It was when she heard Susan Napier speak at a community centre talk that she “found (her) tribe”. However, I was interested to hear that she has quite a romantic story of her own—falling in love with and marrying her own “blind date” hero!
Welcome Yvonne, and thank you so much for joining me for today’s quick author quizzing.
First, I’d love to hear about your upcoming release, Inconveniently Wed, and ask if it posed any particular challenges for you to write. (Not a blind date romance I suppose?)
Ha ha, no, not a blind date romance in this one, although I guess it is a bit of a blind date wedding that comes as shock to both parties because they were married once before. Hmm, as to challenges, to be honest I found the whole series quite a challenge. Each book I write always brings its own obstacles to overcome but marrying people at first sight, even people who are willing to take that risk, proved a great deal more difficult than I first imagined. That said, it was intensely rewarding to bring each couple in my Marriage at First Sight series to their happy ever after and I think, with Valentin and Imogene, it was even more so because of their past.
I know I’ve been inspired by many different authors along my path to publication. I often think of quotes such as Nora Roberts saying, “You can’t fix a blank page” and Melanie Milburne who said “The delete key can be your friend”! You were inspired by Susan Napier when you heard her speak and I’m wondering whether anything in particular she said struck a chord?
Aside from reading her amazing stories, which truly helped inspire me to become an author myself, the biggest inspiration Susan gave me was telling me about Romance Writers of New Zealand Inc. (it was known as the Romantic Novelist’s Association of New Zealand back then). Realizing I was not alone in this overwhelming urge to read and write romance novels was so empowering and by joining the organisation I was lucky to learn so much from fellow members who were a lot further on their journey than I was at the time. Other authors who’ve inspired me have been Fiona Brand, who recommended entering competitions for feedback to help you see the flaws in your work and improve your writing, and Robyn Donald and Daphne Clair who strongly encouraged wannabe authors to finish the book even if only to prove to yourself that you can.
That's all great advice.
What are your interests when you’re not writing?
There are interests other than writing? Just kidding. Seriously, I’m a very relaxed (a far nicer term than lazy, right?) person. If I’m not reading I enjoy watching movies, the very occasional walk along a beach and I love to knit—socks, beanies, baby blankets etc. Short term projects that bring swift gratification are always fun to do and I love working with variegated yarn. One colour all the time gets dull and boring, even when it’s a pretty colour.
If someone was travelling to New Zealand, which sights would you advise them not to miss?
Oh, wow, that’s a tough question. There is so much to see and do and I always think people never allow much time to see New Zealand because it’s such a small country. If there is only one thing you can do, I’d recommend Queenstown in the South Island and the surrounding area. It’s just incredibly, stunningly beautiful. If you’re a water baby and you love to do water based activities, the Bay of Islands in Northland is definitely your destination dream spot. If you only have a day or two and you’ve flown into Auckland, Auckland offers a whole lot with the Museum, the art gallery, the parks, the beaches, the nearby harbour islands, the wine tours…my list could go on for days. For great cultural experiences and gorgeous scenery and thermal activity, Rotorua is the place to be. But seriously, anyone visiting pretty much any part of New Zealand is in for a treat, whether you love the national parks and walking tracks, snowboarding, mountain climbing, lazing on the beach, surfing, sightseeing, or anything in between.
I've been to New Zealand several times and absolutely love it. The first was a netball tour of the North and South Islands where we played in Auckland, Rotorua, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown. You New Zealanders are certainly great netballers!
What’s next for you as an author?
Well, next up after Inconveniently Wed (January 2019) is book three in the Marriage at First Sight series, Vengeful Vows (April 2019). And then comes a continuity book in the Texas Cattleman’s Club: Houston continuity, Tangled with a Texan (October 2019).
I've got such a busy publishing schedule ahead of me this year, but I'm going to have to find time for these three books. Thank you so much for joining me today, Yvonne.
Thank you so much for inviting me to participate. It’s been fun!
You can find out more about Yvonne by visiting her website at:
https://yvonnelindsay.com
Thank you all for visiting the blog today. I hope you'll join me next week for my interview when Heather Graham joins me as my guest. Until then, Happy Reading!
Alyssa
www.alyssajmontgomery.com
PS Don't forget the Anna Campbell give away from last week's interview ends at midnight tonight AEST!
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About the Blogger:
Alyssa J. Montgomery is an Australian contemporary romance author who is published by Escape Publishing (Harlequin Enterprises, Australia). She also
writes medieval romance as Alyssa James.
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