1. How did you get started writing?
I know so many people say ‘I’ve just always written,’ but it really is true for me. When I was little I wrote to penpals all over the world at an early age, I did English for A-Level and an artsy fartsy BA that I’ve never used, in college. I was a Live-Journal-er before it was cool and my posts were always verbose and often told a story. Needless to say, anyone who has known me for any length of time is unsurprised to hear that I went and wrote books!
2. Out of all your books, which one is your favourite and why?
This one’s a hard one, obviously I have a fondness for my first fiction novel. I wrote the first draft when I was 19 or so and let it languish in a closet never to be heard from again. I found it quite by accident and worked hard to get it publish-ready. That said, my upcoming release, Four Letter Feelings might just be my favorite because I poured pieces of my soul into it. My MC’s parents are tragically killed and writing the loss of a parent so soon after my own father passed away, was pretty awful. It was such a hard book to write, and I almost quit a few times. I think I’m proudest of this one, for sure, and the emotion and feelings that went into it, definitely have it up there for my fave book to date!
3. If your friends were asked to describe you in one word, what would it be?
Strong
4. What is your favorite thing to do outside of writing?
Spend time with my friends. If 2020 has taught me anything it’s that I wholly own my title of social butterfly. I don’t care if it’s at a coffee shop or a hockey game, I just love spending time with the people I love.
5. What do you love most about the genre you write?
I’m a sucker for a good love story, I really am. Writing romance means I get to write allllll the happy ever after’s I want. Beyond the HEA, I love the talent of other indie romance authors. Before I self published I would have never come across some of the books that are now my favorites. I was mainstream all the way. The quality of romance writing in the indie world is truly amazing and definitely sets the bar high for those of us trying to break into the cool kids!
6. What do you want readers to take from your books?
My books aren’t stereotypical romances, they aren’t written to market and don’t follow a lot of the tropes. My men aren’t ‘manly alphas’, they have real-people feelings, they suffer mental health problems and sometimes they cry – despite being hockey jocks. My women are strong, yet also fragile. They all wear their ‘flaws’ on their sleeves and manage to kick-butt regardless. I guess the main thing I like my readers to take from my books is that just because society says something is taboo doesn’t make it so. Just because society says men shouldn’t cry, doesn’t magically mean they don’t. Just because society says women should behave a certain way, doesn’t mean they should. My books herald the individual, acceptance for who you are and being unapologetically you, no matter how broken you might feel.
7. Describe yourself in 3 words.
Genuine, loyal, persistent
8. What made you decide to write in your current genre?
When I was younger, I met a guy online, I fell for him and was convinced I was going to marry him. He was my muse. I wrote for days until I had the words out onto my computer and I couldn’t sleep or eat until they were out. When I found the manuscript, I decided to fix it up and publish it. It was going to be a ‘one book only’ type deal (this is now a running joke with my friends) but my readers decided they needed more so I just kept writing.
9. Tell us about your current release/or new release?
My next book comes out in late September 2020. It’s called Four Letter Feelings. It’s in the same ‘world’ as my first two series. In all my books to date, I have 4 main characters. Lisa, her best friend Chelsea, AJ and his best friend Jeremy. My first series was from Lisa’s POV, then my frienditor suggested I write AJ’s and then my readers demanded (nicely) I write Jeremy’s because they all love him so much they need more of him and I obliged. This book is set before my other series, though, it tells the story of how AJ and Jeremy met and became friends in college and the tragic story of how Jeremy loses his parents. It’s heartbreaking, poignant but the bromance brings the usual comedy moments my readers have come to expect.
10. What does your writing space look like?
It’s a tiny 2-foot wide desk. We live in a tiny apartment and there wasn’t much space to work with, but it’s got quotes from Craig Martelle all over my slide-robe doors next to me, reminding me to give my all to this career, it’s got photos of my friends and I stuck all over it and it’s got books by my favorite author on the top shelf, right next to my vanity shelf.
11. What’s the one piece of technology you can’t live without?
My phone, it’s surgically attached to me at all times.
12. Do you find it hard to kill off your characters?
I’ve killed off 1 potentially major character, it was as unexpected for me as it was for my readers and I cried when I wrote it, and I cry every single time I read it. Jeremy’s parents had to die, because I mentioned in Lisa’s first book that his parents died, but it was only going to be one book, right? So it didn’t matter what happened to Jeremy’s parents, right? WRONG LOL!!! It’s never just one book!
13. How much of your characters are based on your traits or someone you know personally?
As I mentioned above, my four main characters are based on 4 real people. Lisa is me, Chelsea is based loosely on my best friend in the world, Amber, and the boys are based on real dudes, too. In fact, many of the conversations in the book are based in reality, too.
14. What are you working on now? Can you share a teaser of it with our readers?
It’s called Let Me Love You and is book II in Jeremy’s series!
“Before turning to leave, she stretched up to kiss his cheek. Pausing, she didn’t pull herself away from his space and they stood almost temple to temple. Their bodies close, but not quite touching. He felt like he was frozen in time. Anticipation crackled between them, and the heaviness of the moment felt both consuming and dizzying. He was almost certain she could hear the hammering of his heart in his chest. His pulse was racing, his face, warm from the gentle touch of her lips and it took every ounce of self-restraint not to grab her where she stood and kiss her until she lost every inhibition of being his forever.”
15. Is there one genre that you have not written in yet, but would love to try writing?
Yes! Dark romance – I’d love to try my hand at a little open-door action, just for funsies!
16. What do you do when a flash of inspiration hits you at an inopportune moment?
Stop, drop and write. Take notes on my phone, on a napkin, whatever it takes to get the story out.
17. What keeps you going while writing?
My readers, they’re so naggy (in the best possible way) and they can’t get enough of my characters. My accountability buddy, Clare, my imposter syndrome coach Josie and my six year old little boy who tells me the whole world needs to read my books! <3
18. What’s next for you?
My readers won’t ever let me leave this world, they want ALL the stories from ALL the characters. I love what I’m writing though, so I’m happy to stay here until the job is done and then I’ll figure out what’s next!
19. Where can we find you on the internet?
Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/
Facebook ⇒ https://www.facebook.com/
Instagram ⇒ https://www.instagram.com/
Amazon ⇒ https://www.amazon.co.uk/
Website ⇒ https://www.lasandcolgotexan.
Newsletter ⇒ https://sendfox.com/
GoodReads ⇒ https://www.goodreads.com/
BookBub ⇒ https://www.bookbub.com/
Twitter ⇒ https://twitter.com/