I "met" Amy Garvey when she left a very nice comment on my blog. I contacted her and asked if she would mind doing an interview with me, and to my surprise and delight, she said "yes". Hey, anybody who loves "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" is a good egg in my book. Anyway, here are the results of my interview....
SA: Okay, let's get to the important stuff. So, you love Buffy and Angel - me too! Buffy more than Angel, but David Boreanaz is hot, so I'll just look at him if I run out of things to say. Do you have a favorite episode? It sounds morbid, but I loved when Buffy died ("The Gift"). Now your turn.
Just one episode?! Not possible. Top five BtVS episodes:
SA: I loved that you wrote your "first" romance story at age 11. Girl meets boy aka college professor? Now that sounds like my kinda story - LOL. Hopefully he wasn't fired for dating a student....
It didn't get that far! I shoudl amend that part of my bio, actually -- I only wrote the beginning, when they meet, and then when she gets to class and realizes he's her professor.
SA: And from there you appeared in "Wicked Women Whodunit" with the likes of the truly original MaryJanice Davidson. Your story is a funny mystery with a lot of heat. Have you personally had a day as bad as Lanie Burke?
Plenty of them. Although, to be fair, none of them included a dead body.
SA: "I Love You To Death". Wasn't that the name of a movie? Do your stories compare in any way? Tell us more.....
I think so, although I had forgotten about that when I titled the book. I've never actually seen the movie, so I'm sure they're nothing alike -- plus my I Love You to Death is three loosely linked novellas in one volume, so it's three love stories/mysteries!
SA: You have an upcoming anthology with the lovely and divine Lori Foster and equally lovely & divine Erin McCarthy - two of my favorites. Tell us a little about your story in "Bad Boys of Summer" - and tell us a lot more about your bad boy in the book. Is the bad boy your hero of choice?
My story, called "Wish you Were Here," is about a photographer who hires a really hunky carpenter to turn a dilapidated shed into a studio for her. He fascinates her, partly because he seems to be keeping some secrets...which she would love to learn. The hero is really searching for redemption in this story -- it's pretty hot, but it's not as funny. (Sounds realllly good).
SA: Bad boys. Extremely important topic that your fans clamor to know the answer to. Who are your favorite bad boys, the ones that rock your world, and what makes it so?
I think there's a lot to the bad boy "image" that's attractive, but truly bad boys (criminals, abusers) are obviously not what you want. Spike is a great bad boy, because he still needs to be loved, and he's searching for a brand of redemption, too. Other bad boys? I have a thing for rockers, again because of that image, I guess (Lenny Kravitz, the Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl), but none of them are actually dangerous guys. As far as I know. ;-) (I like Amy's choices <g>)
I think another part of the bad boy allure is the idea that here's a tough guy who's going to show you, and only you, his soft side.
SA: Reading, Writing, and Absolutely No Arithmetic - you are my kinda role model! But how do you find time to write, promote, attend work stuff, and keep up with a blog????
It's not easy, especially with three kids. But at least I'm never bored! Of course, I also don't update my blog as often as I should...
SA: Any chance you can attend Lori Foster's June get-together in Ohio? It is tons of fun, especially for us readers, and you would be a big success.
I doubt it, although I shouldln't say for sure. I can only do so may trips in a year between the kids, my darling husband, and deadlines!
SA: So Amy, what's in your I-Pod? CD player? Most watched DVD?
I don't have an iPod! But I do have hundreds and hundreds of CDs. Right now I'm adoring Anna Nalick's CD, Wreck of the Day, as well the soundtrack to HBO's Deadwood. Oh, and the new Foo Fighters!
Most watched DVD right now would be a tossup between Angel Season 5 and Veronica Mars Season 1. Tried and true movies are Ever After and Young Frankenstein.
SA: Do you have a favorite line from a movie?
From the Princess Bride: "Let me explain. No, it is too much. Let me sum up." and lots of lines from Spinal Tap.
SA: Family - a big part of life. How does your family inspire you? Do your kids like to read?
My family doesn't necessarily inspire my plots or characters, but they're a huge source of strength and happiness. My husband is also a great partner when it comes to helping me out of plot holes.
The boys like to read, although show them a video game and they'll always put down their books. But Sara, who's two, adores books, and reading is a bedtime ritual.
SA: Which author's books are in your tbr pile? What kinds of books did you read growing up? How do you feel about the current explosion of the erotica/romantica lines?
My TBR pile right now includes Gayle Callen, Christina Dodd, an old Jennifer Crusie, as well as a lot of non-romance authors -- Martha Grimes, Ruth Rendell, Tanith Lee, Jodi Picoult.
I read everything I could get my hands on growing up, although I never got into science fiction or fantasy much. I loved books like The Witch of Blackbird Pond and Little Women.
The current explosion of erotica/romantica is definitely market-driven -- publishers don't put out books if there's not a demand for them. That said, I don't think every house needs a specific line -- look at how the demand for paranormals has ebbed and flowed over the years. Sexy books are fine with me, but I'm a fan of romantica rather than straight erotica -- I don't like to read about characters having sex if I don't have an emotional connection to them, and they don't have an emotional connection to each other.
Thank you, Amy, for taking the time to answer my questions. I really enjoyed getting to "chat" with you, and I'm really looking forward to your story in "The Bad Boys of Summer".
posted by Stacy~ at 2/26/2006 08:15:00 PM
