We caught up with lovely Modern and Dare romance author Maya Blake to talk about her new book An Heir For The World’s Richest Man, her journey in becoming a writer, and her hobbies!

Your next book An Heir For The World’s Richest Man is out on 25th July, and we are excited! How would you summarise the plot?

As you’ll probably guess from the title, this book deals with the ultimate level of everything —wealth, alpha-ness, babies, and my favourite ingredient in a romance: red-hot passion! The story is about a hero who went from literal rags-to-riches. Joao grew up on the streets of a favela, the son of a prostitute. Through the magnanimity of a mentor who saw and nurtured his intelligence, took himself from the gutter to the richest man in the world! But even the rich need trustworthy people around them. Enter Saffron, his unflappable right-hand woman. Over the years, Joao’s come to rely on Saffron for almost everything! Seriously, the only day he doesn’t call on her for one task or the other is Christmas Day. Why? You’ll have to read the book to find out! Sadly for Joao, after many years of living in his shadow, Saffie’s eager to move on. She wants a love, a relationship…a family, all things she believes a jaded Joao won’t give her! Little do they both know that their one passionate night in Morocco has borne literal fruit. And so these gorgeous two are set a new challenge, how to navigate the new waters of impending parenthood, while trying to fight their every-growing attraction!

You write both DARE and Modern romances. What do you enjoy about writing both types of romances and what has your experience been like?

I LOVE writing Modern romances because they were my first introduction to true romance novels at the age thirteen! It’s truly a dream come true to put my on take on the stories I grew up reading. Modern romances are high fantasy, high emotions…really high everything! And as an avid travel junkie, I also LOVE writing about places I’ve visited or hope to visit and there’s no better place to bring a place to life than in Modern romance books. With my DARE books, I get to explore the naughtier side of my writing, and that’s always a thrill. Like the Modern books, they epitomise the kind of books I love to read and I jumped at the opportunity again, to put my own stamp of those edgier, sexier stories that romance readers love.

For new readers, how would you describe a signature Maya Blake book?

Maya Blake books tend to skew towards super-alpha heroes who at the beginning of the book are in a pretty grim situation they’re wholly unprepared for, haha! I love taking them on a journey of self-discovery, usually with a sassy heroine who they think is compounding their situation before they realise her true value! But with every single book, I infuse oodles of passion, alpha-hotness and sizzling sexy scenes so prepare yourself for a high-octane ride.

What advice would you give to aspiring modern romance writers?

When I was starting out on my writing journey, there was one piece of advice making the rounds—write what you know. While that is true, I feel that’s a little limiting. So my advice is—write what you know but add a little bit of what you don’t know. Which is not to say make things up without proper research! It simply means, don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and shake things up a little bit. My first Modern book featured a female Formula One driver. While I knew a LOT about the world of Formula One, I knew next to nothing about female drivers. So while I could’ve gone with a male driver, I stepped out of my comfort zone and switched things up a little. And it paid off!

What do you do in your spare time when you’re not writing?

I read. And read. And read. Haha. When my kids manage to guilt me into putting my kindle down, we indulge in two family favourites—watching movies and eating out. J

Can you tell us a bit about how you became an author?

As I mentioned above, I was introduced to Mills & Boon when I was thirteen and discovered my sister’s collection. I devoured every book I could find after that. Three years later I attempted my first book. Sadly, it didn’t come to much since I was attempting to write about identical twin sisters and one hero who couldn’t decide which sister he wanted! That manuscript is buried in my mother’s sea trunk somewhere. Fast-forward a couple of decades to just after I had my second child. Going back to work after maternity leave was a huge wrench for me. To counteract that, I started writing at my desk when I had free time just so I wouldn’t think about how much I missed him. Four months later, and to my surprise I had a book written! I sent it off to Mills & Boon and received a firm no, thanks! But the editor was kind enough to tell me what I’d done wrong. Buoyed by that, I wrote and sent in more books. Three years after sending my first book in, I received THE CALL to say they wanted to buy my book!!! I’ve been living the dream since.

What’s on your current TBR list?

Oh, far too many to count. But just to reel off a few, I was recently introduced to Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark series, so I’ve been bingeing on them. SWEET ADDICTION by J. Daniel is also one I’m looking forward to reading, then it’s onto Sharon Kendrick’s A ROYAL VOW OF CONVENIENCE. I’m also re-reading my good friend Josie Silver’s ONE DAY IN DECEMBER.

Can you give us 3 fun facts about yourself?

Haha, okay I’ll try.

1. My husband thinks I’m terrified of spiders. I’m not. I just don’t like dealing with them! Shh, don’t tell him.
2. I’m a bit of a petrol head and I drive waaaaay too fast! I once thought I was being tail-gated on the motorway by an impatient driver and sped up even faster, only to find out it was a policeman attempting to get my attention. I barely managed to escape without a fine!
3. I have a long bucket list of countries I want to visit. Next up is Vietnam!

Maya’s new book An Heir For The World’s Richest Man is out on 25th July. Get your copy here!

Get your hands on Crown Prince’s Bought Bride here!

By Sanjana Cunniah