Guest Author: Rachel Van Dyken

March 16, 2019

Joining me today from Idaho is a NY Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author who has written a huge selection of both regency and contemporary romances, young adult and paranormal titles. A huge array of stories with something for everyone!! Her publishers include 1001 Dark Nights, Hachette, Grand Central and others.

Now, lots of authors are interactive with their readers, but I don't think I've ever seen such a wide variety of interaction opportunities as there are if you join my guest's "Elite Lounge". There you'll receive lifestyle advice, information about books and even have a chance to add your input to her books and have your name included in the back. Just visit the website and check out "Elite Lounge" and see for yourselves what I mean.

Among her series are the “Eagle Elite Series” and “Ruin Series” and it was very exciting to know that her title “The Matchmaker’s Playbook” was picked up by Passionflix. (I think I now need to create a TBW (To be watched) list as well as having my TBR (To be Read pile!))

My personal favourites include “The Seduction of Sebastian St James” (I fell in love with the title even before I read the story!!)

I’m very excited to welcome Rachel Van Dyken to the blog today!!

Thanks for joining me, Rachel.

This post falls neatly between your two releases. First, can you tell us about next two releases (ALL STARS FALL released March 12^th and RISKY PLAY is to be released on my birthday, March 19^th!) and whether either or both of them posed any particular challenges to you as you wrote them?

Happy early birthday!!

ALL STARS FALL was one of my first tries doing a single dad romance and I ended up falling in LOVE with it in a huge way, it's a rock star romance that I think will have readers swooning and it's a stand alone. Risky Play releases soon after that, it's truly one of my favorite books I've ever written. It's a sports romance about a European soccer star who has a one night stand with a wine heiress only to come home to tragedy and realize she's working for him. It's a really fun enemies to lovers with lots of snappy dialogue.

Those titles are both birthday treats!!

From your point of view, what are the upsides and downsides to being a full-time author?

Haha this is a good day to ask that question. I've been putting in solid twelve hour work days because I had to re-write a book my publisher wasn't super excited about. The upside is that I get to make my own schedule and that I truly love what I do. The downside is people assume it’s the amazingly glamorous life where you sit at home, sip coffee, drink wine, and that books just happen.

I answer all my own social media on top of writing, it can get very overwhelming to say the least.

We definitely need to be disciplined as writers and there seems to be so much to do besides writing the book!!

Have you had much input into the making of THE MATCHMAKER’S PLAYBOOK into a film?

Because I write very dialogue heavy vs heavy inner narrative, it wasn't that difficult for them to produce a script. They basically just did a copy and paste of the dialogue with the inner narrative of Ian and then had me cut out around 35 pages of it. That was the hard part, I loved the script but I was like the more I cut out the more of a horrible person he sounds like.

It was Tosca (the directors) idea to break the fourth wall so that Ian (Nick Bateman) would talk to the camera and to himself, it ended up working out perfectly and naturally Nick nailed it.

It must've been so rewarding, not to mention exciting, to see the book come to life on the screen, even if you did need to cut some of it. I think it's something all authors face and why so many fans say they always read the books before they watch the movies.

If RISKY PLAY was released as a movie, which actors would you love to cast in the leading roles?

OH wow good question! I say Douglas Booth as Slade and maybe Anna Kendrick as Mack ;)

Sounds good!! I hope it happens!

What’s next for you as an author?

Right now I’m working on my next mafia book, DEBASE, and having a super fun time with that one, the mafia books always center me and I'm needing that in a huge way after the rewrite ;)

Good luck with DEBASE and thanks again for being on the blog, Rachel. I’m also a signing author at the NOLA Booklovers Convention in May and I’m hoping to be able to find you there and say “Hi” in person!

Thanks for having me!!

For more information about Rachel, please visit her website: http://www.rachelvandykenauthor.com

I hope you’ve enjoyed your visit to the Quick Author Quizzing Blogspot today and that you’ll join me next week as my guest author, Julia London answers five quick questions.

Until then, I hope you'll check out Rachel's webpage and enjoy her books as much as I do.

Happy Reading!

Best wishes,

Alyssa

http://www.alyssajmontgomery.com