Author Interview Today! July 16: SARA YORK



Join Sara York as she talks about her book, Surprise Sleepover.

Welcome!!! To Sara York, who also writes as Sara Thacker.

Here's her bio: Sara lives in the southern United States with her family and dogs. She loves romance that takes you to distant worlds where you could be a princess or a warrior, but writing is her passion. Her favorite vacation would be to spend


Tell us about yourself. How long have you been writing? About nine years ago I decided to write my first book. It all started when my sister took off in her sailboat with her husband to sail the Bahamas while she wrote a book. She never wrote one, but I did. Nothing like a little sibling rivalry to get you going. So while she spent the year sailing in deep blue waters, I spent my time writing about them in between changing diapers, watching Disney with the kids, and playing super dinosaur stomp. I've recently taken the time to go back through my first novel and change some things. Okay, basically the entire book, but it will be out under my Sara Thacker name in time for Christmas with the title of Final Betrayal.


How did you get from a statistics career to writing romance? I had a baby and with the cost of day care and the fact that we wanted to have another child, I decided to stay at home. It was refreshing to be home with no job. Actually, it drove me crazy, but let's stick with refreshing. I was so inspired, writing became my goal. A lot of that inspiration came from I never really wanted to go into a career in business or anything like that. Art was my passion but my parents wouldn't let me live at home and they wouldn't support me unless I was in college and enrolled in a "real" degree. So at 18, I was either going to be kicked to the curb or be some sort of professional, business-type person. Now I guess you can say I own my own business as a writer and I'm glad that my husband supports me in doing something I've always wanted to do.



Who is your favorite author(s) and why? I love Janet Evanovich. She writes very funny books that I can get lost in. I also love great suspense books. Right now, I'm reading a great novel by Christine Kersey. I also love Rick Reed and Lincoln Child


Tell us about your new book. As Sara York, I have two books coming out this summer. Surprise Sleepover is a love story about Nick and James. Here's the blurb:


Nick has spent the last year dreaming of James, but he's been too afraid to act on his desires. Then the ice and snow blew in, trapping him downtown. But he's not the only one prowling around the office. James is pleased to find Nick still at work and opens his house to Nick, offering him a place to sleep.


Nick is shocked when James grabs his hand to lead him across the icy street and more shocked when the man starts undressing him. The night may be cold outside, but the heat is rising in James' apartment.


The eerie hush of the streets made him jumpy. Usually cars zoomed past, but not today. It'd been thirty minutes or more since he'd heard anything outside.


A loud noise broke the silence. He mistyped a few characters, which he corrected before getting up to look for whoever was sneaking around the building. The noise had been the door by the elevator, he was sure of it. That particular door made a loud popping sound anytime it opened. Had someone come back to work? Impossible, with the roads the way they were.


Nick stepped closer to his door and hesitated. The smart thing would be to lock the door and call someone, but he wasn't a baby. And who would he call? Sure, he was afraid to leave the safety of his office, but no one who wasn't supposed to be in the building could get in.


The pounding of his heart and the sweat on his brow made him laugh. He was being ridiculous. This wasn't a slasher film. Some guy wasn't going to jump out from behind a corner and stab him or shoot him.


Nick shook off his fear and walked out of his office and straight into another person. He screamed and flailed his arms. The rapid beat of his heart echoed in his ears.


"Oh God, I didn't mean to run into you." The man stepped back, his hands grasping Nick's upper arms.


For a moment Nick fought the stranger's grip. Fear shot around his thoughts before he realised the man holding him was James from accounting.


"I didn't know anyone was still here." His heart still hammered in his chest and his breathing was erratic, but he wasn't sure if it was from the fright or the fact that James was touching him.


"Are you okay?"


"Yeah, I'm fine. How about you? Are you okay?"


"Yeah, I was just looking to see if anyone else was in the building. I'm James, by the way. I work down in accounting." James dropped his hands from Nick's arms and laughed. "I guess I don't need to hold on to you anymore."


What is the appeal of writing? It's the coffee and bonbons. No, really just the coffee and the fact that I can make up whole worlds on paper that help my readers get through the pain in their lives or just makes them happy for a few hours.


What kind of writings turns you off? What stops you from writing? Really the only thing that turns me off is when I make a mistake. When I take the characters down the wrong path or force them into a certain behavior that I want them to have it doesn't work. The character has to stay true to his character or the book doesn't work and the writing stops for me.


How have you shocked your readers? By writing a male/male love story. Also dead bodies in beds where main characters are sleeping and snakes in the mail, but that's part and parcel in writing suspense.


How do you get your ideas? What is your writing day like? My writing day is crazy. Usually I'm super busy and I don't have time to actually sit down and write, but I'm getting much better at forcing myself to. This year I've already written 5 books and its only July. I try to spend at least 4 days a week specifically focusing on my writing. The other 3 days I spend catching up on email or doing promos.






Can you share three writing tips? 1/Don't give up on a book unless it really is dead. 2/Take everyone's advice and wring everything out of it you can and then toss it all away and write what you want. 3/Don't give up.


Fill in this blank: Your ideal fictional hero would think you gorgeous if He had any sense in his head.


How much do you love cake? I love super moist chocolate cake where the cake melts in your mouth and you don't have to chew it. When you take a bite, you have to close your eyes because it's so yummy, you'll go into shock if you don't shut out the rest of the world. If I could have any cake in the world, it would be dutch chocolate with chocolate ganache filling layered about every 1/4 inch of cake. Then topped with a yummy, chocolate butter cream frosting and crushed pecans stuck to the sides. The cake would be at least 6 inches tall so there would be enough yummieness to have to eat multiple bites for each sliver that is on my fork. That's how much I love cake.


Thanks, Sara, for joining me today! Bring on your comments.