Few days ago Nancy Herkness published her latest novel The CEO Buys In. The readers’ feedback was very positive and currently is averaging 4.3 Amazon stars from 80 plus reviews. The book is the first part of Wager of Hearts series.
Our next guest received two nominations for RITA awards. She won many awards like Golden Leaf, Maggie Award and National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award. It’s a great pleasure to welcome Nancy Herkness at Land of Books.

– Nancy, what is your book The CEO Buys In about?
– The CEO Buys In is the first book in the Wager of Hearts series, the story of three fabulously wealthy men who make a wager on finding true love.
In this first book in the series, self-made billionaire Nathan Trainor feels restless and disillusioned. His company may be thriving, but he can’t find a woman who sees him for more than his wealth. With his love life in the red, he meets two other billionaire bachelors at the ultra-exclusive Bellwether Club. The three of them make a wager of the heart: they must find women who love them for who they are, not their money.
Savvy office temp Chloe Russell is trying to scrape together the money she needs to support her grandmother. So when a flu epidemic strikes Trainor Electronics and she’s promoted to Nathan Trainor’s assistant, she jumps at the lucrative opportunity. But then Nathan himself falls ill, and he and Chloe must work from his penthouse while he recuperates. Before long, it’s clear there’s genuine heat between them, and it’s more than just a fever spike. Will Nathan win Chloe’s heart—and the bet? Or will their differences destroy any chance for love?

– How did you decide to write the story?
– Right now readers are enjoying stories about billionaires. In this case, I went back to my writing roots because my debut novel, A Bridge to Love (published back in 2003), was about a very wealthy man who finds love in an unexpected way. I loved writing that book, so I thought I’d go back to that theme with the Wager of Hearts series.
– What was the biggest challenge during the write up process?
– The biggest challenge—and the greatest pleasure—is actually writing the book. Finishing a full-length novel is a marathon, not a sprint. You have to sit down at the keyboard almost every day and write, whether you want to or not because you have a deadline to meet. I use daily word counts as my goal to keep myself in the desk chair, thinking and typing.
– Tell us something more about your main character Nathan and Chloe? Are they close to someone from your real life?
– Nathan is a tech genius, an engineer. My father is also an engineer, although he’s not a computer person. My admiration for people who can make things came from him. So Nathan’s choice of career springs from my father’s.
There were a couple of times in my life when I was a temporary office worker, so Chloe’s position is based on those experiences of mine. I found temping interesting because I got to see so many different companies in action. Alas, not once did I get to work for a handsome billionaire CEO.
– How much time did you need to finish the story and to publish it?
– It takes me nine months to write a full-length novel. Then I work with the developmental editor, the copy editor, and the proofreader to polish it to a high shine. My publisher and I develop a cover and a marketing plan. And finally the great day arrives and the book is released into the world! My publisher, Montlake Romance, is very quick and efficient at getting a book out so the entire process takes about 17 months, mostly because I’m a slow writer.
– What the readers will find in your most popular novels Take Me Home and A Bridge To Love?
– A Bridge to Love was my first published book, so it’s near and dear to my heart. Kate Chilton is a contented soccer mom until her husband dies. Randall Johnson is a CEO who likes women but bypasses commitment. Kate wants to rebuild her life without another man as a wrecking ball. When she decides to play his own game, Randall decides to change the rules.
Take Me Home is the first of my Whisper Horse novels, set in the mountains of West Virginia. A big-city girl returns to her country roots for a fresh start, with the help of a wounded racehorse, an emotionally scarred but irresistible veterinarian, and a love to last a lifetime.
– Who are you (Would you describe yourself with few sentences)?
– I’m an award-winning author of eight contemporary romances. I’m also the mother of two twenty-something children. I live in suburban New Jersey (near New York City) with my husband, two dogs, and a cat. My childhood was spent in West Virginia, a very different sort of place from where I live now. I love Jazzercise, horses, reading, walking the dogs, and seeing my children.
– What are your writing habits?
– I have my own office up on the third floor of my house under the eaves. I try to write at least six days a week but don’t always succeed. I don’t plot my books out ahead of time. Instead I develop two main characters with internal and external conflicts, and then I just start writing because I like to see what will happen just as much as my readers do. I do all my writing on a computer. I’m not sure I would have ever written a novel if word processing hadn’t been invented.
– Are you satisfied by the sales of your books?
– My current release The Ceo Buys In has been a bestseller on Amazon ever since its release, so I’m thrilled with its success. Of course, that has helped readers discover my other books so their sales have increased as well.
– What are you doing to promote your book by the best possible way?
– I have a strong online presence with my website, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. However, the truth is that I can’t do anything nearly as powerful as my wonderful publisher, Montlake Romance , can. Without Montlake backing my books, I wouldn’t have the visibility that I do now.
– When we will see your next novel and would you unveil something more about it?
– The second book in the Wager of Hearts series comes out in May 2016. I can’t tell you the title because it’s still under construction. Book 2 is the story of Luke Archer, whom you meet in the prologue of The CEO Buys In. He’s the superstar quarterback for the New York Empire and a media darling because of his good looks, talent, charm, and longevity. He is facing the prospect of retirement from the game he has lived, breathed, and loved for his entire life. If he can’t be on the field, he doesn’t want to be anywhere near football, so what will he do with the rest of his life?
Deeply depressed, he is contemplating this dilemma when he meets Nathan Trainor and Gavin Miller in the bar at the Bellwether Club. There, they make their potentially life-changing wager of hearts: find a woman who loves them for themselves, not their money, power, or fame.
Little does Luke know that his game changer works right in the luxury condominium building where he lives. Miranda Tate is the hardworking and highly ethical assistant concierge, and when Luke nearly gets her fired, he finds he has a lot to make up for before he can win the love of his life.
– How you decide to select the romance genre as the field of your creativity?
– I fell in love with romance novels when my mother gave me Jane Eyre to read when I was young. They have been my comfort read of choice ever since. Once I stopped writing poetry, I knew that the next thing I wrote would be a romance novel. It just took me a while to get to it.
– Do you remember the exact moment when you took the decision to be a full time writer?
– There wasn’t really an exact moment. I started out writing A Bridge to Love just for myself. When I finished it, I took the next step of looking for an agent. Once my agent sold the book to Berkley, I decided to write Shower of Stars, this time with the idea that I would get it published as well. Through all this, I considered myself a full-time mother and a part-time writer, to be honest.
– Now that my children are grown up and living elsewhere, I guess I am now a full-time writer.
– If you may ask yourself one question in the interview what it will be?
What advice would you give to a new writer? Persist on every front! You have to write until you finish the book. You have to revise until the book sparkles. You must submit, submit, submit to agents and to editors. Or you self-publish and market the heck out of your book. And then you have to do it all over again because just one book does not constitute a career. Believe in yourself and keep doing the work!

To learn more about Nancy Herkness check out her Website
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Take a look at her books:

The CEO Buys In (Wager of Hearts Book 1)
Shower Of Stars The Place I Belong (A Whisper Horse Novel)
Country Roads (A Whisper Horse Novel)
Music Of The Night
Take Me Home (A Whisper Horse Novel)
A Bridge To Love