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Welcome to our New Faces column, where you can meet brand-new romance authors and find out about their books. This time we're visiting with Maxine Sullivan, whose first release is The Millionaire's Seductive Revenge from Silhouette Desire (Feb 07). Maxine, welcome to TRR! Tell us about yourself. I was born and bred in Sydney, Australia but at eighteen I wanted to see something of the world so I joined the Royal Australian Air Force. A few years on, I met my future husband who was also in the air force. We had two children and ended up seeing Australia instead of the world (and there's nothing wrong with that!) though in the 80s we did take the kids on an extended visit to the UK to meet with various relatives. Eventually we moved to Melbourne where we decided to put down roots. We've been here for many years now, but I still love to travel to romance writers' conferences in Sydney and Brisbane, and overseas to New Zealand and the US. Are you coming to romance writing from another job? I've worked as a Personal Assistant for a government department for about eighteen years, and during that time I've learned the craft of writing through my joy of writing. It's been a juggling act at times, with family, work and now publication to manage but I wouldn't change it for anything. What led you to write romance? As a teenager I used to sneak and read the True Confessions magazines my mother bought - and thoroughly enjoyed them too. J Then Mum began reading the Women's Weekly romance paperbacks, which eventually led to her reading all those wonderful early Mills and Boon stories in the 70s. There wasn't exactly an oversupply of romance books back then, so every book, every word, was savored and thoroughly enjoyed. Tell us about your road to publication. It was a long, hard road that took over 20 years before I received The Call from Silhouette Desire, but it was worth the wait. In those early years, there was only one market and that was Mills and Boon in London. I remember writing manuscripts in longhand and typing them up on my old portable typewriter. I still have a rejection slip from Mills and Boon from 1986 that I boast about with pride. But back then there were no critique groups, no contests, and I didn't even know another writer. Australia was a terribly isolated place, but I guess so were many places in America and the rest of the world. It wasn't until I heard about Romantic Times Magazine, then the Romance Writers of America, that I started to learn how to be a romance writer. Then I connected to the internet, and suddenly I had the world at my fingertips. It was great! It still is. Since that time there have been many writers, both published and unpublished, who have helped guide me, and I am so grateful to them. Without their support I doubt I would have been able to keep going without publication for as long as I did. What kind of research was involved for your first book? The story is set in Darwin, in the tropical north of Australia where I lived for many years when my husband was in the air force. Then I moved to Melbourne, and I love it here, but I thought that Darwin was the perfect setting for a romance. The city has changed quite a bit in some ways yet still the same in others, but I did my research through the internet, then had a wonderful romance reader from Darwin check over my manuscript to make sure it sounded right. Tell us about your debut book. Here's the blurb for The Millionaire's Seductive Revenge: "Kia Benton knows one of her bosses wants her - unfortunately it isn't the nice, safe boss she's engaged to but the womanizer who reminds her of her father. Brant Matthews desires one thing - to have his company secretary in his bed. When the sheets are pulled back to reveal a fake engagement, can Kia resist the Aussie CEO who believes no woman can remain faithful?" It's tremendous news that the book was released in the US in February 2007 and for two weeks it was #3 on the Waldenbooks Bestseller List. That was such a thrill for me, especially it being my first book. Who are your influences as a writer? I adore anything by Harlequin Presents authors Helen Bianchin, Sandra Marton and Lucy Monroe who, by the way, have all given me great cover quotes for my first three books. I also love to read books by my fellow Desire authors, and there are many other authors who deserve to be mentioned if only there was enough room. In single title I love books by Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Nora Roberts. What does your family think of having a published romance author in their midst? My mother is very proud to have a daughter who writes romance novels. But it's been my husband and sons who have watched me persevere year after year without publication, who have been there for me when I've received rejections on manuscripts that were sometimes crushing defeats after looking promising, who have been there for me when I picked myself up and kept on writing and trying… so you can bet they are proud of me. Very proud. The truth is that I couldn't have done it without them. Tell us about plans for future books. In 2006 I sold 4 books to Silhouette Desire. The first three are all set in Darwin and are a part of the "Australian Millionaires" miniseries - Affluent, Influential… Impossible to resist! The heroes in those three books are best friends who find their match in three feisty heroines. Book 2 of the series, The Tycoon's Blackmailed Mistress, is due for release in May 2007, and the third book, The Executive's Vengeful Seduction, will be published in August 2007. And I'm very excited about my fourth Desire, which is part of a Down Under continuity series with five other Australian and New Zealand Desire authors. The first in the series is due to be published in January 2008, with me writing the third book, due for release next March. We put a lot of work and many months into brainstorming ideas, and the senior editor of Desire, Melissa Jeglinski, is totally supportive and as excited as we are about it all. I can guarantee it's going to be something really special. How can readers get in touch with you? I'd love for my readers to contact me through my website at http://www.maxinesullivan.com. With my book already having been released, I've had some wonderful fan letters that have really warmed my heart. It is, after all, what telling stories is all about. Maxine, congratulations on your first book, and best wishes for continued success! March 31, 2007
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