On creating characters
When this comes to finding characters for my stories, I usually don’t have a problem. I think about an idea for someone, and then look at what events in their culture or childhood have shaped them the way they are. Then I ask what their wants and needs are at the start of the story and how I can make it difficult for them to achieve what they desire.
Evie’s latest favourite reads
My latest reads to share with you are a fabulously funny and sexy romance with a disabled heroine, a painfully sweet romance with a bucket of laughs about how to really live a life in the face of death, and a steamy hot tale of internet dating and learning to trust again. These were such wonderful books and I can’t wait to share my thoughts about them with you.
On why I write romance novels
Why do I write romance novels? Why do I write love stories that make you laugh and leave a smile on your face? Because I reject the reality fed to us by the mainstream media and substitute my own. I used to consume the news many times a day. I would wake up in the morning and check online for what had happened whilst I slept. I would listen on the radio in the car whilst driving, and then watch it later on the television.
What Evie read next
The next top picks from my kindle library are a crazy billionaire romance with a meet cute in a men’s bathroom, a steamy drama set in a Sonoma county winery, and a fake romance novel set in Manchester. The books were either recommended to me by authors, or found by my eternal quest to find writers like me.
On finding the right word
Often when I write, I find it very difficult to find the right words to describe how a character is feeling, or how an environment should be described. I see it in my head and feel it in my body, but it’s like trying to find a word to describe it that doesn’t exist in the English language.
On editing
Once I have an idea, and the bit between my teeth, getting words on the page is often easy. They aren’t necessarily the right words or even in the right order, but they are there. Writing too many words is a far better place to be than not writing enough, as cutting your work down creates a better draft. Having to add fluff just to up a word count is rarely going to end well.
On writing to market and finding your audience
I read a lot about the phrase ‘writing to market’ in the author community. The idea is to identify a reader group, for example people who want sweet and clean Billionaire romances, or YA (young adult) urban fantasies, and then write books targeting those markets. It makes business sense - find the market and then supply them with the product they demand.
On my love of books
Books for me have been my refuge, my treat, my escape. I devour them insatiably like a never ending supply of calorie free chocolate.
