I am the biggest sucker for holiday romances….especially Halloween themes! Sarah Spade’s Halloween Boo was right up my alley, and my first Sarah Spade book. Insta-love, sexy ghost fun, and an over-the-top happy ever after? Yes, please! I’ll admit, I’ve been a little remiss in digging into Sarah’s other series (and looking into her catalogue as Jessica Lynch), but she’s definitely on my radar, and she should be on yours, too!
Today, we’re talking about her journey to becoming a published author, how she deals with negativity, and her upcoming release, Claimed by the Creature.
Q: Who has been your biggest supporter(s) throughout your writing career?
A: My biggest supporters have been my family! I’ve been writing my whole life, though I never thought about it being my career. Then I actually lost my mother seven years ago, and that was the kick in the pants I needed to pursue it. It was a reminder that tomorrow isn’t promised to anyone, and I always told her that, one day, I wanted to get my stories out there – and when I released my debut at the end of 2017, I made sure to dedicate it to her.
Q: Where do you draw inspiration from in your work?
A: Everywhere! I do write under multiple pen names and in different genres – including paranormal romance, monster romance, romantic suspense, and more – so I draw inspiration from everywhere. I’m a huge pop culture person, and I love listening to music, going to plays and shows, and watching movies, as well as reading constantly.
Q: What does it mean to you to be an author?
A: I love it. I get such enjoyment out of coming up with ideas for my stories, getting them down, and sharing them with others. It amazes me how, something that sparked in my brain, eventually becomes something tangible I can hold – whether in my ereader, a print copy, or through my phone in an audiobook – and it’s suddenly real.
Q: What is your writing process like? Do you listen to certain music, snack, make loads of phone notes when inspiration randomly strikes?
A: Over the last seven years, I’ve written nearly 90 books of all different lengths. By now, I’ve gotten a pretty good system going. I used to be a pantser – as in ‘writing by the seat of my pants’ – but I’ve learned I get the best results with a vague outline. I let the story ruminate, then write down major plot points for each chapter. It’s more of a guide, helping me figure out the beats and the structure of the story, and more often than not, it goes off the rails a bit, but if I know what I need, the book flows so much easier for me.
I always have a notes doc open for random scenes, dialogue, etc., too. I can’t write with absolute silence, so depending on the book, I usually have something playing in the background. Some books have their own Spotify playlist that I listen to nonstop during the initial drafting, or maybe I’ll play a TV show on repeat that I’ve already seen a bunch of times. Because of hyperfocus during the drafting, I often forget to eat, but I’ve gotten better about having snacks – like granola bars or something sweet – nearby for a little bit of energy (and brain food)!
Q: Is there a genre or subgenre that you want to explore that you haven’t yet? Conversely, are there any that you’ll never write?
A: I’m a huge PNR girlie and most of my books have magic in it. Because I do tend to genre hop between pen names, there aren’t too many subgenres in that category I haven’t tapped into yet, though I am leaning more toward exploring a true monster hero instead of a humanoid one. I’ve done fae, too, but I also want to do a fantasy romance in the future. As for something I’ll never write, that’s probably horror. I’m too much of a chicken to write something scary!
Q: What has been the hardest part of your career as an author so far?
A: Marketing and being social, honestly. Between ADHD (and a tendency to take rejection super hard) and social anxiety, I’m basically a hermit. I went to my first convention last year and that pushed me out of my comfort zone so far – but I still agreed to do two more this year because I need to push myself and put myself out there if I want anyone to find/read my books.
Q: What do you consider to be your greatest strength and weakness as an author?
A: I would consider my greatest strength to be a brain that constantly is popping full of ideas. I have so many WIPs that series I want to start, and only so many hours in the day. A weakness would be overextending myself by acting as if I have way more time than I do. Especially in the romance genre, it’s easy to believe that you won’t satisfy your readers if you’re not releasing constantly. I’m always working on something because of that mindset, plus I want to get all these stories in my head out there.
Q: Who is on your radar as someone you’d love to work with?
A: There are so many people that I love and admire from afar! But because of my social anxiety, it’s hard for me to approach anyone. It took years before I got the nerve to start reaching out to amazing cover designers and illustrators to do the part of the business I can’t, same with audiobook narrators. So, I’ll just say everyone in my genre!
Q: At some point in our lives, we’ve all heard the negative comments: “You’re not good enough.” “You’ll never make it.” “This is the worst thing I’ve ever seen.” “You don’t belong.” How do you move forward when faced with negativity?
A: This is a great question! Because I have a visceral reaction to being rejected, I learned early on to leave reviews to the reader. Once my book is done and out there, I move on to the next. Imposter syndrome is real, too, and no matter how many releases I have, I struggle a lot to accept that I am an author, and a full-time one at that. So, when someone is negative, my first reaction is to take it personally – but when I do, I’m motivated to prove them wrong instead of letting it get me down.
Q: What advice would you give to women who are wanting to write, especially if it’s something others might perceive as “outside of the norm”?
A: Do it! Who’s to say if it’s ‘outside the norm’ or not, right? I write monster romance with 7′ tall shadow demon heroes, plus wolf shifters, vampires, even ghosts. Trust me. There’s a market out there for everything, and if you love your story, odds are there are plenty others who will, too – and they’ll want to read it. So write it 🙂
The fifth book of Sarah’s Sombra Demons series, Claimed by the Creature, is out tomorrow! Sierra, our Britney Spears inspired heroine, is on vocal rest in her penthouse apartment with her very unimpressed cat, Three. Her manager suggests she goes through her fan mail, and she finds a package addressed to her real name; an old leather-bound book with a ‘true love’ spell. What’s a girl to do but give it a go? Sierra gets the surprise of her life when seven-foot-tall shadow demon, Dagon, appears and claims she’s his fated mate. He’ll do anything to make her happy and take her back to his shadow world.
At the start of the year, Sarah read Kelley Armstrong’s Rockton series and devoured all seven books in two weeks! She had this to say about the series: “A secret community in Alaska full of criminals with secrets? Murder mysteries that kept me guessing, with thrilling scenes and enough romance to keep me invested? It’s just what I needed during the early part of the winter.). I don’t know about you guys, but I’m sold!
Sign up for Sarah’s newsletter on her website and follow her on Facebook and Instagram for all her book news and WIPs. You can also sign up for the newsletter for her alter ego, Jessica Lynch, on her website here and follow Jessica on Facebook and Instagram for all of her updates!
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