When did you realize that you wanted to become a writer?
In the sixth grade when the teacher assigned a poetry writing
assignment. I distinctly remember the awe and fascination I felt when the
realization dawned on me that writing wasn't just something that magically
existed in books, it was something I could do. I was hooked!
Is being an Author all you dreamed
of, or did it just happen?
Oh, I dreamed of it, big time! I started writing stories as a
teenager but had no clue how to actually finish a book and didn't really have
the confidence to pursue the dream. It wasn't until many years later that I
made the commitment to myself, that I was going to do the thing I'd always
dreamed of doing and actually write, finish and publish novels - and then I did
it!
What was the very first thing you ever wrote?
An epic vampire story (and this was long before Twilight)... but I
never finished it. I was in love with vampires when I was a teen.
What was the inspiration for your book?
I think, in a word, music. I've always been a huge fan of music,
and grew up on rock music in all its forms, from classic rock to hair metal.
Great song lyrics have always inspired me to write, though I don't write music.
Somehow the idea of writing a rockstar romance just made sense to me; it's a
world I feel I understand, and I loved the idea of taking inspiration from my
home city, Vancouver, and using elements of it in the books in this series.
This city is vibrant, beautiful and glamorous, and parts of some of the books
in the series take place here. My heroine, Katie, is a total Vancouver girl,
kind of a mashup of many different home grown influences in terms of her style
and her personality.
What scene was your favorite to write?
I loved writing the witty, flirty banter between Jesse and Katie
while they play their road game, "Top Five," on the tour bus, and in
the scene that follows; it's obvious Jesse and Katie are hot for each other and
have an instant chemistry, but the thing I really fell in love with about them
is how much fun they have together, and this scene was a chance for that aspect
of their chemistry to shine through. Katie's walk of shame scene was also
extremely fun to write!
What scene was the hardest for you to write?
Probably the scene where Katie faces Jesse's ex. I wanted to do it
justice for both characters, and though Katie is the heroine of this story, I
wanted to make sure to understand the scene from the point of view of both
women; it's a really complex situation and it would be easy to paint the ex as
the villain, but it would also be unfair in this case.
What are you working on now?
I just put the finishing touches on the next book for this series,
a prequel novella about Zane and Maggie called Dirty Like Us; it will be
released in a few days! I'm also starting on book #2 in the series, which I'm
aiming to have out in early 2017.
