I want to first thank Maren Smith for taking the time for my interview!
I hope that you enjoy this interview as much as I have!
Please make sure to give Maren (and all her aliases) a shout-out and make sure to FOLLOW on all her social media!
Bio:
Maren Smith is a USA Today bestselling author with more than 20 years’ worth of books in print. She is well known for both her slightly twisted sense of humor and her unhealthy love affair with coffee.
Lifestyle submissive to her dominant husband, she lives with her father, two sisters, three dogs, and four cats in the northern wilds of Utah.
She has penned more than 160 novels, novellas, and short stories, and is the author of the Masters of the Castle series.
When and how did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I was asked in school what I wanted to be when I grew up. I had no clue, but I did know I didn’t want to actually have to work. I picked author because everybody knows writing isn’t work. It’s fun, and that’s why writers spend their days taking luxuriant bubble baths and eating finger chocolates. LOL, so I decided to be an author and now I work ten to fourteen hours a day.
The funny thing was, my sister and I had been telling each other elaborate bedtime stories (basically, writing out books out loud) since we were little kids. My mother was a librarian. We all of us consumed books just as fast as we could buy them. I honestly can’t picture myself doing anything else.
Did you have any influencing writers growing up?
I read voraciously thorough my childhood and I would call every one of those writers my influencing writers. From Mercer Meyer to Stephen King to Amanda Quick, Jude Devereaux, and Judy Garwood. They were all my favorites.
Are any of your characters based on people in real life?
I’ve done it a few times. Dad Bod Doms, Book 3: Ray was taken from my two best friends, authors Rayanna Jamison and Allysa Hart.
I was driving and I’ve got a voice recorder for when ideas hit me. It was a long trip on very boring stretches of desert highway and I was occupying my time by dictating the next story, but I couldn’t remember the names of the characters.
Since I was on my way to see Rayanna, I used their names for the hero and heroine and their personalities just clicked and the book practically wrote themselves.
I never told either one of them. They found out when the book published … still bearing both their names.
Where do you draw your book inspirations from?
I get them from everywhere. My current story came from watching the old movie Double Jeopardy. I got as far as the part where the female character is given a parole officer and—boom—the plot for Daddy’s Little Convict came to me.
My heroine is newly released from prison and living in a halfway house under the supervision of a crooked parole officer, stuff happens, and love conquers all.
Do you use have a basic outline when starting a new story or do you let the characters lead the way?
When I start, I usually have a rough idea of how it starts, what’s the main plot, and how to navigate at least the first few chapters. And then as I write, I’ll think my way through the next immediate chapter at a time until I get to the end. As a writer, I’d say I’m have plotter and half flying by the seat of my pants.
When you are picturing the characters in your book, do you have a cheater photo for inspiration?
No, not often. I’ve got an image in my head, but usually it’s the characters personalities rather than their appearance that speaks to me.
Many people read as a form of escape and relaxation. What is your favorite way to sit back and relax?
I go for a drive and spend the night at a hotel.
I am very introverted—quiet and shy. I’ve never learned the art of small talk and have a hard time approaching people, but if you see me at a signing, for heaven’s sake, come talk to me! I really would like to meet you.
Do the locations in the stories have any meaning to you?
No, I write all over. I’ve traveled all over too, and when possible, I do try to visit the places I write about. It’s not often that I put multiple stories in the same location. I just love variety. I like things that are new to me, so I tend to go all over the map.
Do you write in single or multiple POV?
I usually write from both the Hero and Heroine’s point of view in alternating scenes or chapters. That way, my readers get both their thought processes and know what they’re feeling.
What do you find to be your best research tool?
The internet, lol. I can’t imagine any other answer here. I look up the darnedest things. I hate the think what anyone who had to look over my browser history would think.
Do you write under a pen name? Also, do you write under more than one name?
I write under the names Darla Phelps, Denise Hall, and Penny Alley. Penny Alley my mainstream stuff, while the other names are my kink books.
What genre do you write and why is this your preference?
I love romance. I will probably never write anything other than romance, although I do delve into sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal, contemporary and historical sub-genres. Romance was not my first passion, but it has been the one that lasted the longest.
Tell me something about yourself outside of writing. Jobs, accomplishments, family, quirky traits... what led to you being you?
My father and two sisters live with my husband and I. We’re all getting older and I think if you shuffle us all together like a pack of cards, so much has broken down over the years that we won’t make even a single, fully-functioning human being anymore. So, we all moved in together so we can grow old in health and good company. Last person standing gets the house.
What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?
Keep writing. Keep working at bettering your storytelling skills. Turn out the best story you possibly can and read constantly to see what the authors you read are doing that you yourself are not.
Or, probably more importantly, study what you love about the way they write your favorite stories and then figure out how to do that in your own writing.
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