Helyce has a chat with Erin McCarthy whose latest book, Jacked Up releases today.

Tell us a little about yourself? Who is Erin McCarthy?

I’m just a small town girl, living in a lonely world… Actually, I’m a bona fide city girl, mom and author, who knows way too many eighties song lyrics.  :)

How did you come up with a story that revolves around race car drivers? Are you a NASCAR fan?

I was not a NASCAR fan.  I am now.  The series came out of a writer friend and I on a epic road trip where I literally drove my car partially off of a mountain.  We were passing hour after hour in the car driving and we were talking about the Harlequin NASCAR line and we sketched out an idea for the racing story we would want to tell.  At the time I was writing vampires, she was writing historicals, and we shelved the idea as too little sleep and too many waffle house stops.  Two years later I was looking for a contemporary series idea and I asked her if she still had those notes.  She did.  And that was Flat Out Sexy.

In Jacked Up we finally get Eve Monroe’s story. Did you always know how you wanted her story to go?

No, I had no idea.  I needed time to figure out who could handle her and why exactly she is so abrasive and unhappy.

In previous books, Eve has a reputation for being a bit mean, shall we say, yet in Jacked Up I felt that her attitude and personality was a bit less abrasive. What that your intention?

Of course.  No one wants to read about a nasty heroine.  I never thought she was truly vicious, she was just snappish and overdramatic.  So I needed to explain that she was a true worrier, stuck in something she didn’t enjoy, her own dreams shattered.  While she is still argumentative, hopefully it’s easier to understand where she is coming from.  I think all women worry, so hopefully readers can identify with that. 

As much as I love your hot and sexy drivers, I was happy that Eve did not end up with a pro driver. How did you come up with the character of Nolan Ford?

I’m not sure.  I just knew Eve needed a steady Eddie, a guy who was not going to be ruffled by her overreacting, who didn’t have an ego that would compete with her.  Out of those thoughts, Nolan was born. 

Who is up next in the Fast Track series? How many more books can we look forward to?

This is it!  Six books, with Jacked Up being the final installment.  For now anyway.  There are no more major characters who haven’t been paired off, so I would have to introduce totally new characters, so it seemed like a good time to end the series.  Ending with a wedding in Vegas also seemed like a fun way to wrap it all up.  Who doesn’t love a drunken spontaneous wedding in Vegas? ;-)

When you are writing, what three things must you have in order to be successful besides your laptop/computer?

Diet Coke.  Music.  A pillow behind my back.

Do you do anything special to celebrate release day?

No, I really don’t.  I’m usually one or two books beyond the release book in terms of writing and I’m focused on that.  I usually get a massage or my nails done when I finish a book.  You can never have enough massages.

What book has been in your TBR that you can’t wait to read?

I finally read the Hunger Games series and loved it.  I’ve been reading non-fiction for my book club and it’s fun to read titles I wouldn’t pick up on my own.  It keeps me fresh as a writer and always learning something.

What’s next for you?

I just finished my next book, which will be out in March 2013.  This is Piper Tucker’s story, Danny Tucker from Heiress For Hire’s daughter.  I always wanted to revisit the town of Cuttersville and I really enjoyed writing this book.