Romance author Emily Mayer joins me today to chat about her novel, Pretend with Me.
Bio:
Emily Mayer is a best-selling author and a book lover with a capital L. When she isn’t writing, you can usually find her in the kitchen burning dinner with a book in her hand or tucked away in one of her favorite reading spots promising “just five more minutes.” In addition to books, Emily is addicted to coffee, dogs, and cat videos. She lives in the Midwest with her husband and dog, both of whom are very good boys.
Please tell us about your current release.
Pretend with Me kind of came out of nowhere. I had major writer’s block while trying to write another book, so I started doing a free write exercise where I just wrote whatever I wanted for ten minutes. The free write took on a life of its own, and the Beacon Hill universe was born.
What inspired you to write this book?
Oddly enough, the Murdaugh family saga inspired Pretend with Me. I kept hearing pieces of the investigation on the news and in podcasts, and I couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to live in a small county that was basically owned by one family generation after generation. I write romance though, so I obviously had to come up with a romantic plotline for that kind of story.
Excerpt from Pretend with Me:
Macon and Holden St. James. The two sons of the most prestigious family in the county. The St. James family was low country royalty — the Kennedys of Georgia. A few times every year, they’d descend from their estate like benevolent gods to attend various community events they deemed worthy of their presence. They wanted to give the illusion that they were members of the community, but we all knew the truth.
What exciting project are you working on next?
I’m currently working on book 2 and 3 of the Beacon Hill series, and I’m just so excited to introduce readers to new characters and to catch up with some characters from Pretend with Me.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I honestly don’t know if I consider myself a writer yet. It all still feels kind of surreal!
Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your workday like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I transitioned to full time writing in 2020 (good timing, I know). I don’t necessarily have a hard and fast schedule I stick to each day. I’m not a morning person, so I usually reserve morning for more administrative and social media related tasks. And all the coffee of course. The rest of the day is divided into writing and editing. Some days, the words are just flowing, so I don’t stop writing to edit. Other days, the words are nowhere to be found, and I end up spending most of the day editing.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I’m convinced cheddar rice cakes are the cure for writer’s block. I also need at least two “good” pens (IYKYK) by my keyboard despite the fact that I write on a computer…
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a writer or an archeologist. I have a degree in anthropology and will absolutely talk your ear off about the Rising Star cave system.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I’m living with chronic migraine and that has hugely shaped all aspects of my life, for better and for worse. As a migraine sufferer, I spend a lot of time during attacks alone in a dark, quiet room. One of the ways I have coped with the isolation is through telling myself stories. A migraine attack can last for hours or days, and it can get really boring laying around in the quiet. Stories were a safe way to occupy my mind without causing more pain. My first book, Everything Girl, was one of the stories I came up with lying in the dark one day. I still do some of my best plotting during migraine attacks, but now, I keep a notebook and pen or voice recorder by me while I’m resting.