Author Interview with Madison Hayes

I was really excited to have the opportunity to interview one of my favorite erotica authors, Madison Hayes. She has written numerous books, including the Kingdom Series, the Calendar Girls Series and most recently Alpha Romeos, a collaboration with Rhyannon Byrd. For a complete list of her books, click here. Warning: you must be 18 years old to enter this site.

If you've read any of her books, you know that Ms. Hayes has a fantastic sense of humor so not only did that make this interview very informative, it was a whole lot of fun! I hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! As I always enjoy saying, read on…!

Can you tell our readers a little about yourself?

I'm younger than I look and older than I act.

Going from a career in engineering to being an author is quite a big transition. What made you decide to switch to writing?

You mean besides the fact that I was getting too old to hang off the edge of a dam or crawl around inside a bridge? It was my daughter's fault, really. When she started high school she already knew she wanted to go to university in England . I already knew I couldn't afford it. I started writing to supplement my income. She has one more year of high school left and I THINK I might just be making enough to send her to school in the U.K. next year. It's gonna be close, though!

What does a typical writing day look like for you?

Get up. Drink tea. Make lunches for my kids before they leave for school. Drink more tea, leaving a third cup to steep on the counter. Sit down at computer to write. Look up three hours later. My third cup of tea is still on the counter, cold. Make a new cup of tea, hot. I'm still in my robe. Go upstairs. Put on a bra. Feel much more human. Go downstairs and check email. Complain to Rhy if she hasn't written me. Swap emails with Rhyannon for a while as a write. Hear my kids bounce up the driveway in the jeep. Decide I'd better get dressed. Come downstairs, dressed. Kids have snagged the computer. I scowl at them. They suggest I do some housework for a change. Make dinner. Do dishes. Get back on the computer and work on any edits or critiques I've promised, along with blurbs, excerpts, or cover art requests. Drink tea. Go to bed.

The male characters in your books are what I like to call the “Four S's (Sexy, Sensual, Sweet, Strong) while also being funny and most importantly hot between the sheets! What's your secret? What do you use for inspiration?

Thank you! I really haven't been writing very long. I'm definitely learning as I go. I hope I'm improving. Rhyannon is a great inspiration to me. When it comes to the “SSSSuperguys”, she's the master!

Is there a character from one of your books that resonates deeply with you?

Warrik. He's one of the three main characters in Alpha Romeos. He also appears as a secondary character in both Dye's Kingdom: Wanting it Forever and Kingdom of Khal: Redeeming Davik.

If I have a muse, he's exactly like Warrik. He's strong, heroic and true. He thinks the best of everyone. He's funny and self-effacing. He'll act like a fool if it will make you laugh, but he's really very clever. He finds humor in irony and gets a chuckle out of those who would underestimate him. Warrik is always teasing and never stops smiling.

Who are some of your favorite authors?

Rhyannon Byrd is my favorite author. I think she's a genius. I have many wonderful friends at Ellora's Cave all of whom are great authors but, after Rhyannon, I like Dawn Madigan . She has some great stories coming up that are both clever and incredibly hot. Samantha Winston has a good sense of humor and a nice imagination. But I could go on and on.

Alpha Romeos is by far the best collaboration that I have ever read. What made you and Rhyannon Byrd decide to join forces (thank God for the planets being in alignment) and will you be doing it again?

Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed Alpha Romeos.

Rhyannon and I started writing for Ellora's Cave at the same time. We fell in together because we had the same editor. In order to promote our books, we started a newsletter http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PureMagick where we offered up a free story for our members. Our first free story was Alpha Romeos. We took turns writing the installments, handing the story back and forth, making it up as we went along. We basically spent the next year, writing Alpha Romeos in our free time, and trying to make each other laugh. We laughed a lot…and fell in love with our three heroes Warrik, Colin and Dye.

We're currently writing our next story together at our newsletter. It's called JAnus Palace . If we think it's any good when we're done with it, we'll probably try to get it published.

Can you tell our readers a little about what you're currently working on?

Thanks for asking! I've just finished Miss August and I'm playing around with Miss September, which will be the sixth story in my Calendar Girl Series. At the same time, I'm working on a futuristic ménage that's showing a lot of promise.

What books are currently on your bedside table?

On my bedside table, I have a stack of old favorites. The King must Die by Mary Renault. Conan of Cimmeria by Robert E. Howard. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. Random Harvest by James Hilton.

That's what's on my bedside table. UNDERNEATH my bed is where I keep the good stuff. That's where all of my Rhyannon Byrd books are.

Is there anything else that you'd like to tell our readers?

I hope some of them will take a look at Alpha Romeos. It isn't exactly comedy but it will make you smile. It's good to smile.

And if it hasn't been mentioned yet in your answers, I have to ask - did your surveying partner turn around when you asked him to?

LOL! You're talking about my bio which is published at my website, www.madison-hayes.com The story goes like this: I was surveying when I met my husband. He was my “rod man”. While I was trying to get my crosshairs on his stadia rod, he dropped his pants and mooned me. Next thing I know, I've got the backside of paradise in my viewfinder. So I grabbed the walkie-talkie. “That's real nice,” I told him, “but would you please turn around? I'd rather see the other side.”

…it was love at first sight.

And, yes—he turned around! Why do you think I married him!

For a complete list of books by Madison Hayes, click here . Warning: you must be 18 or older to enter this site. If you'd like to contact Ms. Hayes, she loves to hear from readers.

- interviewed by Kerin