Author Maya Riley #interview

Please give a warm welcome to author Maya Riley

Tell us a bit about yourself

I’m from many places, but currently live in the south, where I learned what real sweet tea is. I live in a fixer upper house with my husband, and my turtle named Mo. We always have some kind of new home fixing project going on. I’m a substitute teacher moonlighting as a crazy writer. Coffee is a necessity in life, and I have so many hobbies that I never have to experience a moment of boredom.

Have you always wanted to become an author?

Yes! I would dream up so many worlds and characters, that they became a normal part of my life. I was always going way past the page limit for all my creative writing assignments.
As a kid I was always reading. I get car sick pretty easily but I would still read in the car until I physically couldn’t anymore because I would get sick. I never went anywhere without a book.
One year my English teacher had this thing where we kept track of all the hours we read. I won every week so she needed to change the rules. One weekend I was grounded and read from when I woke up to when I fell back to sleep. I had to explain about that, and I’m still not sure that teacher ever believed I got in over 30 or so hours of reading that weekend. While my friends looked to Hollywood as their celebrities and heroes, mine were the ones who wrote books.
I tried to actually write at one point and show others before going off into the world, but was met with harsh negativity. Enough to make me stop writing and reading. Looking back now, they were not the right people to listen to. Then a few years later I picked up a book again, and then another, and eventually discovered the amazing reverse harem community. I watched as so many authors worked hard for their dreams and they were so inspirational that I decided to give it another go. I admire each and every one of them, they are my real heroes. I’ve received so much love and positivity since I started putting my writing out there again. Going after an old dream that never died is one of the best things I’ve ever done.

What was your inspiration for your current book/series?

A couple years ago I was in a bookstore with a friend and we both got the same book. We read it individually and texted each other about it. The book is The Forest of Hands and Teeth (book 1 of 3) by Carrie Ryan and it really drew me in. It was the only zombie type book that I’ve ever read and I was just fascinated by it, plus it was the first time I could share a book I enjoyed with a friend. It stayed with me and I slowly began to day dream about my own version of a zombie-pocalypse. I began to create my own type of zombies (I call them “rotters”) and the different characters and situations they would come across.
There’s also a German Shepherd dog in my book, Infected. Her name is Puppy and she’s based off one of the dogs I had growing up, and his name was Puppy.

What are you working on now?

I have a long list of projects I’m currently working on. The first to be released is Infected: Releasing the Magic book 1. It’s about zombies and magic and all that fun stuff. I don’t know how much of it to give away right now, but I’m pretty excited for it.

Do you have any quirks while writing?

I’m not sure. I tend to write different sections for different parts of the books and then write the in-between parts to bridge them. Sometimes things change along the way and I end up deleting the separate sections I wrote earlier on, but it helps me see where I need to get to at different times. I currently have my writing space set up at the kitchen window so I’m constantly getting distracted by the wildlife out there, too.

What are your hopes for the future?

To release every book in my long list of WIPs. I aim to keep at it and get all the ideas out of my head.

Do you have any advice for new authors about the publishing world?

Just keep writing. Even if one person doesn’t like it, there’s always plenty others who will love it. Above all, never stop writing.

Do you have anything to say to your readers?

I’ve been overwhelmed with the amount of support and I see every one of you. Thank you to everyone who has helped me past a rough part, or shown love on all the teasers and character boards I share. You are all so amazing and inspirational ❤