-
Q: What inspired you to start writing?
I have been writing since I was a very young girl, lying on the floor with my pencil and yellow paper. But it wasn't until a little over a year ago, after reading some very poorly written werewolf romances that I decided that I could do better. And here we are.
-
Q: Can you tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is Dominion, a mafia romance set in Washington DC. Mallory Sterling is a Senator's daughter who happens to spot Nicolò Basile at a country club. She finds out that he owns Dominion, a popular nightclub that is open for lunch. And he's there every Tuesday. She convinces her best friend they must go to Dominion for lunch every Tuesday, and begins flirting with Nick. They fall in love, but no one approves. Not the Senator, not her brother, and worse, not even Nick. The rest of the story revolves around how they separate then come back together and finally have their happily ever after. If you're tired of mafia romances that have BDSM, spanking or page after page of sex, Dominion is the book for you.
-
Q: How do you create your characters?
I don't have any process for that. They seem to just pop into my head. Sometimes I don't even have to choose their name, although in my first book, Alpha Ryan Sullivan is named Ryan after Ryan Cawdor of the Deathlands series.
-
Q: What does your typical writing day look like?
First thing is tea. Then I check in on my video game, then to ChatGPT for the days list of three...three things that must be accomplished that day. Then I pull up my manuscript and start. I usually finish in the late afternoon when my brain gets sluggish. The day is broken up with multiple trips outside with Ruby, my MinPin and the occasional household chore.
-
Q: What has been the most rewarding part of being an indie author?
Being in total control of my cover, my words and my characters. I've learned so much from just doing email to formatting, uploading manuscripts, hitting that super-scary 'publish now' button, to attending book fairs as an author.
-
Q: What’s one challenge you’ve faced in your writing journey?
Formatting. That's not the only challenge considering that I started as a total newbie, but it's the biggest mountain I had to overcome. Now formatting is mostly easy but there were times I wanted to hand it over to someone else. Only my stubbornness kept me at it.
-
Q: Do you have any favorite writing tools or apps?
Everything I write is done in LibreOffice. I can export in whatever form a site requires such as PDF or Word. And I'm used to it now so it's easy to manage. It wasn't hard to learn. I do use ChatGPT as a reader and editor, but always with the caveat..."do not rewrite." Every word is mine. That's why I don't stopped using Grammarly. It always wanted to change my voice.
-
Q: What advice would you give to new or aspiring indie authors?
The best advice really depends on your situation. What are you working on? But one thing that stands out to me is after you export your manuscript to PDF and are ready to upload to Amazon or wherever you're publishing, read the PDF. I didn't one time so when I received my author proof, I was shocked to find that all my italicized words had been reduced to "h...h.........hh...h". So, read the PDF. Then check the launch previewer. Don't skip those steps no matter how eager you are.
-
Q: How do you handle book promotion as an indie author?
That's the hardest question, isn't it? Be on every social media platform that you can realistically handle. You don't have to be on all of them. I find book fairs are fun and usually successful. But while some are free, others are expensive and some require an application fee and if you're not chosen, you lose your money. Check book promotion sites. There are some that are affordable or free. Get some ARC reviews if you can but don't expect too much from them. BookBub has a great reputation for fantastic ROIs but it costs a bit.
-
Q: What’s next for you? Are you working on a new book?
Yes. I'm working on Special Order, my second mafia romance which is set in Sicily. It's about a young woman who finds herself the "unwilling guest" of the mafia don, Aronné Conti. Together they unravel a mystery surrounding the job offer that brought her to Sicily and he keeps her safe while doing it. And of course it ends with a happily ever after. I'm also working on Vendetta which is book 3 of The Sullivan Boys Trilogy, my werewolf romances.
-
Q: Which character surprised you the most?
Dom. He was supposed to be the underboss. Just a yes man to whatever Aronné wanted. But he turned out to be Aronné's best friend as well and has no problem speaking up.
