A lifelong romance reader, I cut my teeth on Johanna Lindsey, Jude Deveraux, and Kathleen Woodiwiss, along with Silhouette and Harlequin for palate cleansers.
Opting for a career that provided both a food and travel budget, I earned a BA, CPA, and MBA, and spent far too long being a corporate drone, then consulting other corporate drones.
Along the way, I was one of the few 1990s NBA season ticket holders never to see Michael Jordan play ('93-'94). I also attended a few NFL games, the Belmont Stakes, the NHL playoffs, the World Series, and managed to see more than twenty MLB parks, several of which have since been demolished. More recently, I’ve enjoyed the Texas Stars, the AHL affiliate of the Dallas Stars.
I have a number of spicy Regency romances under the pen name Maggie Sims (www.maggiesims.com), along with hot hockey romances set in Austin, where I now live with my husband and three furbabies.
When and how did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I’ve tried on and off since high school to write creatively. I finally started researching the craft and structure of romance stories in my early 30s.
However, I had a demanding alternate career and was only able to focus on writing when I had a lull between jobs. Of course, since I spent a dozen years in Silicon Valley during the dot com bust, that did happen… 😊
Did you have any influencing writers growing up?
The early Harlequin writers, Violet Winspear and Ann Mather took over from Judy Blume’s books and Little House on the Prairie. After that, the usual authors for women of my age – Kathleen Woodiwiss, Johanna Lindsay, Jude Deveraux, et al.
Are any of your characters based on people in real life?
No. Not in my histroms written under the pen name Maggie Sims or the contemporaries. That being said, certain actions, exchanges, even sayings or habits are inspired by people or experiences in my life.
Where do you draw your book inspirations from?
Depends on the book. 😊 In this case, I read Kate Meader’s second Chicago Rebels book So Over You, about a decade ago. When I decided to try my hand at writing hockey romance after reading hundreds of them, a line from that book was still stuck in my head, and my entire storyline evolved from that. When I wrote her a fangirl email telling her that, she was flattered, and kind enough to read Dances with Pucks and offer a cover quote.
Do you use have a basic outline when starting a new story or do you let the characters lead the way?
My process is still developing (says almost every writer everywhere 😊 ). I have used a rough outline since about book 3, but for the hockey romances, I’ve added then writing a messy synopsis. That has shown me a few gaps in my steps and expedited the writing, although you’d never know it by the amount my editor’s red pen bleeds on the page.
When you are picturing the characters in your book, do you have a cheater photo for inspiration?
No. I use their background or build a random character. Which is awkward when people ask me about my ‘dreamboard.’ I have to go hunt down photos, and since I’m out of touch with a lot of the current music stars and movie stars (they all look like twiggy children to me, LOL), I’m always like – him, I guess, whoever he is, or her.
Many people read as a form of escape and relaxation. What is your favorite way to sit back and relax?
OMG definitely reading. I read more than 130 books a year (yeah, yeah, I know I could write more books if I read less, but my author friend Jena Doyle puts it this way – I need to put more words into my brain in order to spill words back out). Wine and travel are my other vices when feasible.
Who are your favorite current authors to read?
Always Golden Angel, both her historicals and her contemporaries. Kate Meader continues to impress me. Chelsea Curto. Jena Doyle. Melissa Kendall and Nicki Pascarella are among my histrom favs. I could go on for hours. 😊
What are your favorite books by others?
I’ll give you two not on the list of authors above. My histroms are a little kinky, so along with Golden Angel, Annabel Joseph’s Properly Spanked series was my inspiration to try that. And Cherise Sinclair’s Masters of the Shadowlands books 1-5 are my comfort re-reads.
For current trending books (ok 2024 trending, I’m slow) – Lights Out and Butcher and Blackbird were fun reads. Often Booktok / Bookstagram and I have different tastes so that was a nice surprise.
Ask me again tomorrow and these answers will be different, though, I’m a mood reader!
Do the locations in the stories have any meaning to you?
Dances with Pucks is set in my current home, Austin TX. So I made sure to highlight a few of my favorite spots, and/or local favorites. I’ll continue to do that throughout this series, and I’m happy to take ideas from readers.
Do you write in single or multiple POV?
I write in dual POV – the FMC and the MMC.
For historical romance, I write in third person past. For the hockey romance, I’m writing in first person present. That switch was so much harder than I expected, and my editor still found mistakes.
Then I had to write a historical releasing this fall as part of an indie collaboration, and now I’m back to first person present. Hopefully. 😊 My editor will get back to you on that.
What do you find to be your best research tool?
For hockey, Stephen Meserve of the 100 Degree Hockey blog about the Texas Stars has been my savior – he answers crazy detailed and strange scenario questions via email. He also read the semi-final manuscript to check my hockey language. (Who knew that when they stick handle the puck solo down the ice, it’s not dribbling?? LOL)
Do you write under a pen name? Also, do you write under more than one name?
Debbie Charles for contemporary romance, currently focused on one hockey team, the Texas Tornadoes
Maggie Sims for Regency romance with a touch of kink
What genre do you write and why is this your preference?
My intro to full length romance was through the original bodice rippers, most of which were Regency. That and my British mum led me to starting with the Regency period.
I decided to write hockey romance because I’ve been reading it for so long and love it, and wanted to try my hand at contemporary.
Tell me something about yourself outside of writing. Jobs, accomplishments, family, quirky trait...what led to you being you?
A surprising number of romance authors are or were attorneys. I’m a little different – I have a CPA and an MBA and I worked in Finance and Technology for decades before retiring early.
What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?
Definitely take some workshops on the craft of writing.
Read some reference books.
But most of all, outline a story (using Romancing the Beats or Save the Cat, for instance) and then WRITE IT. Don’t get waylaid by taking more classes, or going to book conferences.
Don’t give up if writer’s block hits. Keep writing. You have to write many bad words to end up with a good book. That is what editing is for. But the only way out of a writing slump is to write your way out of it.
How do you deal and process negative book reviews?
Depends on who they are from. If they’re from an influencer (happened with this book), or they’re mean (happened with my first book), they’re hard, they get to me. It takes me a few days to process, but I’ve been lucky—within that timeframe, a glowing 5-star review comes in, and I can bounce back.
If they’re a general reader, it’s easier. I know my books aren’t for everyone—hey, I DNF books as well, although I will only leave a negative review if there are glaring issues I feel readers should know about.
Generally, I skim the first ~50 reviews to find the trends, as those help me think about what I might need to fix in the next book.
Overall, I have a pretty thick skin, which I think is helpful for an author.
What is the most difficult part of your writing process?
All of it, LOL? Editing is hard. Not because I am disheartened by the edits (thick skin 😊 ) but because it’s hard to make changes at the line / word level while keeping in mind how it will affect the overall big picture of the 90,000 other words.
But the worst thing for me is promo / marketing. It’s so time consuming to do the free marketing, and most authors don’t make enough money to do much paid marketing. So that is time I could be writing, and it’s work that is not comfortable for me.
Did you know that almost exclusively the indie authors in the Top 10 (overall) Kindle store spend $10,000 A DAY on paid advertising for the two weeks around release? People can talk about TikTok sensations and going viral, but reality is that it’s a pay to play market and most of us don’t have that kind of money.
What do you need in your writer’s space to keep you focused?
A laptop and no one talking to me / no TV. If I have that, I can write, at least for an hour or so. Even in an airplane seat.
What is your naughty indulgence as you are writing?
Allowing myself to be distracted by email, reading, etc. If I could focus better, I’d be way more efficient as a writer.
If you could spend a day with another popular author, whom would you choose? And why?
Oh gosh, these questions like what’s your favorite book are too hard! I can’t pick just one…!
I’ve met Golden Angel, Annabel Joseph, Ainsley St. Claire, Melissa Ivers, and a number of other popular authors.
Right now I’d choose Kate Meader, as she was so kind to me as I started this series. But I love sitting down with any published romance author to chat about our experiences.
What is your schedule like when you are writing? Do you have a favorite writing snack or drink?
I almost always have coffee and water nearby as I write. Water is an absolute must.
I have a few groups that I do writing sprints with – zoom calls where we all check in at the start to say what we’re working on, then go dark, then come back after 30 min or 50 min to report progress. They really help with accountability, and as I’m the rare author who is something of an extrovert, they help me feel like I’m not isolated in a writing cave.
Do you listen to music when you write? What kind of music is your favorite?
Rarely, but if I do, I need generic spa music. Something without words.
Have pets ever gotten in the way of your writing?
YES. They’re lucky they’re cute.
My dog is nearly 17, and he is needier than he used to be. Sometimes he needs to be on my lap, and sometimes he needs me to carry him downstairs and take him out. (He likes to be with me, but can’t handle the stairs to the second floor any more.)
The cats are younger, and when they want to play, they come walk around my office, or me, or my desk. One of them meows loudly when she wants attention.
But they’re adorable and I’m willing to stop for them.
What is your kryptonite as a writer? What totally puts you off your game?
When I can’t hear the characters’ voices. Because I outline, I have an idea of where I’m taking things and how they’re going to interact. But then sometimes starting out, or after I’ve been away from writing for a few days, I’ve lost the tone of their character. I have to write my way back into it. Sometimes reading what I already have written helps, but it doesn’t usually solve it. Ugh.
Have you ever killed off a character that your readers loved?
Not yet, but you never know…! 😊
How do you celebrate after typing THE END?
I take one day off before I start self-editing. As many authors are, I’m sort of bad about that, although I’m better about celebrating my release day—with champagne.
I hope you enjoyed the interview!
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