A Conversation with Abby Niles, Author of WINNING LOVE (Love to the Extreme #3)

I am reading Abby’s newest book RIGHT NOW. (Perhaps literally, depending on when YOU are reading this 😉 )

Welcome, Abby! Thanks so much for agreeing to be with us today!

Thank you for having me!

What 5 things should readers know about you?

1) I love to laugh and humor naturally finds its way into my writing, even with heavier issues.

2) I recently became a fur-mommy to two adorable pugs named Smeagol and Precious. Anyone know what movie that is from?  😉

3) I love to read, but don’t get to do it as often as I want. I’d really like to take a weekend trip with just me and my books.

4) I repeated, “What have I done?” a lot while writing Winning Love.

5) The first book I ever wrote was a historical…and it was awful!

 I do! I do! Me! Me! (My very mature answer to #2. Picture me waving my hand above my head–just in case you missed the fact that I do know the answer. Have I spent too much time in junior high classrooms, you think?)

Tell us all about your main characters—who are they? What makes them tick? Most importantly, what one thing would they need to have with them if stranded on a desert isle? 😉

My hero is Mac “The Snake” Hannon. Mac is a MMA fighter with a traumatic past. He has shut himself off from life, prefers solitude to being around people and is really just existing, not living. He can get snarly and Gayle loves to call him a curmudgeon.

Though she shares a similar traumatic past, my heroine, Gayle Matthews, is the complete opposite of Mac. She embraces life, jumps in head first with whatever she gets into and isn’t afraid of anything.

As for the needed thing:

Hmm. Let’s see. Gayle would be a MP3 player or some other device to play Pachelbel’s Canon in D whenever she wanted to. It’s her centering music.

Mac would need a heavy bag or practice dummy so he could continue to get out all the guilt and anger inside of him.

 I love the word “curmudgeon”. I think I’m going to have to make an effort to use it more often. I like their “needed thing” answers–definitely unique!

Where did the inspiration for this book come from?

The inspiration for this book came years before I was even a writer and it was the movie, TWISTER. That movie started my fascination with storm chasing and tornadoes. Fast forward almost twenty years later, I was finally ready to write a book about one.

Wracking brain to remember if I actually saw Twister, or just trailers for it. Might have to check it out on Amazon Prime for a refresher. 

How long have you been writing, and what (or who) inspired you to start?

I have been writing for ten years. Becoming a stay at home mom to infant twins is what inspired me to start writing. I needed an escape and for the first time reading wasn’t giving me one. I blame mommy fatigue. I was so tired, I had a really hard time focusing on the story in front of me. However, I needed some kind of escape, so I started writing my own stories. It was a mental workout, kept me focused and I found I loved writing. Things naturally progressed from there.

Ah, mommy fatigue. I remember those days–and I only had one infant at a time! Some days I couldn’t remember my name, let alone write coherent words on a page. Impressive!

What do you like best about being a writer? What is the most challenging part?

What I like best is the creating and seeing what my mind comes up with next. The most challenging part is writer’s block. I just went through a horrible bout of it. I mean horrible. My creativeness was on complete lockdown. I had nothing. Those times makes my anxiety skyrocket and I become a rather unlikable person. LOL. I finally just stopped thinking about it, moved on to something else that needed my attention and I had my ah-ha! moment while blowing drying my hair a little over a week later. It’s crazy how that works.

Ugh–a week! Funny how mindless tasks can get you back on track…and thank goodness!

What are you working on right now? What can readers look for from you in the next year?

I’m working on Lance’s book. No title yet. Sorry, guys! He is Mac’s childhood friend in WINNING LOVE. I just signed another three-book deal to continue my Love to the Extreme series. Lance is first and then Brody and the third book is TBD.

Yay!

What authors and/or books have inspired you?

I think every author and book I read inspire me in some way—even the books I didn’t really care for. I can find something in them that helps me grow as a writer or kickstarts my own imagination.

Good answer…kind of a cop out, but good. 😉

What are you currently reading? What are your thoughts about it so far?

I have been slammed and haven’t had a chance to read like I would like. However, I was part of Avery Flynn’s release party a few weeks ago for her new Entangled Indulgence ENEMIES ON TAP. I took a day to read that before the party, and let me tell you, I loved that book. It was a humorous, sexy read. I highly recommend it.

I read it too! Very cute; I second the recommendation. (My review is here.)

If you had to “sell” this book in a single Tweet, what would you say?

He’s squared off with countless men, but one outrageous woman becomes his most unpredictable and thrilling opponent.

Oooh, nice job!

Thank you so much for having me today!

Abby

My pleasure! Read on for more about Abby and her latest book, WINNING LOVE 🙂

About the author:

Ever since Abby Niles picked up her first Sweet Valley High book in sixth grade and fell in love with Elizabeth and Todd, she’s been hooked on romance. By the time she reached high school, she was devouring meatier romances with pirates, cowboys and knights. She never imagined that those years of reading would one day lead to her becoming a published author.

In her late twenties, after having twins and becoming a stay-at-home mom, she started doodling stories to keep her sanity. Next thing she knew, she was actually submitting to publishing houses. And was immediately rejected. That didn’t stop her, though. She found some kickass critique partners, honed her craft, and continued submitting.

And eventually sold. 

Today, she juggles work, being a single mom, and writing. It’s not always easy, but hey, who said life was easy?

Abby is the author of the contemporary MMA romance, Extreme Love, the first book in her Love to the Extreme series. Fighting Love is scheduled to release in December of 2013 and Winning Love is scheduled for 2014. She is also the author of the dark paranormal romance series The Awakening: Aidan and the The Awakening: Liam and The Awakening: Britton. Both series are with Entangled Publishing. She also has a geeky romantic comedy, Defying Convention, with Carina Press. 

About WINNING LOVE:

Mac “The Snake” Hannon has spent years throwing himself into cage fighting as a way to lash back at the natural disaster that destroyed his future. A call for help has Mac returning to the one place he swore never to return: Kansas—in the height of tornado season.

There he meets free-spirited Gayle Andrews. At first he wants nothing to do with the infuriatingly, persistent woman, but the crazy challenges she tosses his way are impossible to resist. As she thaws years of bitterness, bringing back the Mac he believed long gone, he starts to make peace with the past and see the future again. Until he learns she chases his worst nightmare, then he can’t get away fast enough.

Meteorologist and storm chaser, Gayle Andrews is no stranger to being left behind and now believes in living in the moment. She wants to do just that with the handsome extreme fighter with the achingly sad eyes. As she works to replace the sorrow with desire, she finds herself breaking her one rule: have fun, but don’t fall in love. When he suddenly pushes her away and she discovers the horrifying reason why, she issues one more challenge: face his fear and come on a chase with her.

Will squaring off with the past lead to a victory for heartache or love?