An Interview with Amy Andrews

Amy Andrews is a pretty familiar name, for those who follow my Modern Tempted reviews (including Girl Least Likely to Marry and The Most Expensive Night of Her Life)and she's had a very busy month...  What with winning an ARRA and three novels from her back catalogue being rereleased in ebook format, I decided now would be a good time to have a catch-up...

1:  Congratulations on your ARRA (Australian Romance Readers Award) win for Holding Out for a Hero!  Were you expecting your win? 

Thanks so much Ali. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting it. I’ve been nominated every year now in different categories and this year I got 5 nominations! The contemporary rom category was the one I really *did* want to win but the field for it was amazing and I felt for sure The Rosie Project would win. I was soooo freaking excited when they read out my name. J

2:  HOFAH was more edgy and much longer than your category romances - what made you decide to write something a bit different? 

I actually wrote HOFAH quite a few years ago now and it was one of those books that had really bad timing – the industry for romcom/chick lit had died, the GFC had hit. It was universally loved but the climate made it a really hard sell. So I put it away. But the characters kept calling to me and a lot had changed in the industry in the last couple of years so I thought I’d give it another go round. I didn’t really decide to write something different. It was just the story in my head and I went with it. 

To be honest, I hadn’t really planned on it being longer or edgier. Initially it was just a story about Jake helping Ella to save her school through the one thing she despised more than anything - football. And then all these other characters butted in and demanded their time on the page and suddenly I had this book with all these threads! A house to save, a brother to rescue, crazy circus aunts and a dominatrix best friend, a cocky young bartender, ghosts from Jake’s past, buried treasure, a blue ribbon political hopeful, a journo on the trail of a story….I honestly didn’t know what had hit me! But any writer will tell you that you ignore that kind of stuff at your own peril. So I went with it. And I’m so pleased I did.  

3:  As a Mills & Boon writer, you oscillate between Modern Tempted and Medical romance...  What's the best thing about each imprint? 

I love the sass and the sexiness of the KISS (MT) line, I love its metropolitan feel and its flirty banter. The Medical line can and does have all that too but I think it’s the emotion that underscores it the most. I also really love how it supports a variety of sensuality levels – from closing the door, to ripping it right off its hinges, there’s something for everyone!  

4:  Some of your older medical romances have just been rereleased (The Surgeon's Meant-To-Be Bride; The Outback Doctor's Surprise Bride; and An Unexpected Proposal) - how do you think your writing style has changed, and what should we expect from a vintage Amy Andrews novel? 

Vintage makes me sound like I’ve been doing this for 50 years! J I honestly don’t think you’ll find much of a change. I think the more category books you write, the more comfortable and intuitive you get about the line you’re writing for and how and when to push the envelope. And hopefully I’m still not using the same phrases over and over. J I think people will find my earlier stuff lacks a bit of the humour I’ve put in my later medicals. I was often asked to tone it down early in my career which I did, but I think it gets back to that whole being comfortable thing again – I know my groove now, I know how I like to write and my editors have been supportive of that.

5:  A couple of years ago you co-authored Sister Pact with your real sister - how difficult is it to write with a sibling? 

I had, hands down, *the* best time writing with my sister. We’re very close and very alike in many ways (although we look very different) so it was no hardship to write with her. Our mother thought it was bound to end in disaster but if anything, its strengthened our relationship. The best part was when a new chapter would ping into my inbox and I’d sit chortling away at what Ros had written and be so incredibly excited to sit down and write my chapter. There were no arguments. There might have been the odd recalcitrance over keeping the odd word or two (usually me) but Ros was an absolute pro. If something wasn’t working for me or if I had an issue with something, she just fixed it. And oh my, we laughed. so. hard. It was an absolute blast. J

6:  And finally, what delights are you currently working on? 

It seems that I’m always drowning in projects…. I’m currently working on my second Bold and Beautiful book for Momentum, after that its another medical (I’m doing a nurse as the hero and the heroine as a doctor, never done that before!!) and then after that I’m writing a slightly paranormal romcom involving a cadaver makeup artist and a PI who have to work together to solve the disappearance of a baby (have NO idea where that one came from!) Later in the year I’m working on another KISS continuity with Heidi Rice, Kelly Hunter and Lucy King. It’s tentatively titled Fairytales of New York and we’re all very excited about it! J Oh, I’m doing some finishing revs on the second Sister Pact book, my first Brazen (No More Mr Nice Guy) and a romcom called Risky Business that’s out with Escape in July.

So, as you can see….never a dull moment!

You can find Amy's books online and in store now!