Author Interview: The Caught Up in Love Series
What’s the main reason someone should really read this series?
The Caught Up in Love series is about three women from one family, their secrets, and their second chances at love. It’s kind of a Kerry Lonsdale meets Colleen Hoover blend of smart plots and edgy delivery.
The stories have underlying threads of redemption, hope, transformation, and sacrificing for the people you love. Family is a strong theme, along with how the dead play their part on the living. In each book, the heroine is shackled in some way to someone who has died.
That’s the gist, anyway! But it’s more than that. A tangential thread throughout the series is a crime syndicate investigation that brushes lightly against the family in every book.
Another reason to read this book and the rest of the series: It takes place in New Jersey! The books are set in towns where I used to live (Summit, Chatham) or where I’ve spent time (Morristown, Spring Lake). You can walk the steps of the characters in places like the Morristown Green, the Summit Train Station, the beach on Spring Lake, and more…
What inspired you to write the series? A particular person? An event?
LOL, yes and no. The first book in the series was meant to be a standalone novel. It’s a May / December romance about a widowed romance writer and a troubled young landscaper who she convinces to be her cover model when she spots him planting trees on the grounds of the local hospital. That was the inspiration, because it happened to me. Kind of.
In August 2013, I was visiting a close family friend when I spotted a group of guys planting trees, and one of them looked exactly like a character in the book I was writing. Unfortunately, I couldn’t muster the courage to stop. Missing that opportunity haunted me for months until it spun itself into a novel in my head and became Caught Up in RAINE (2017 IPPY Award in Romance). In the first chapter, Jillian stops the car, and offers Raine, a part-time college student, $300 to pose as her cover model. He accepts and the rest becomes their love story!
CUIR got me an agent, and when we decided to go on submission, the idea morphed into a series about Jillian, her niece Jenny (Shelter My Heart), and Jillian’s older sister, Kitty (featured in the third book, Surrender My Heart). Kitty’s story sprouted from two scenes I cut from the first novel at the advice of one of my editors, and became the book that anchors the entire series.
Since the series features heroines of different ages and blurs the line between Women’s Fiction and Contemporary Romance, we couldn’t find it a traditional publishing home. So I decided to indie publish, though Shelter My Heart was a 2017 Kindle Scout winner and received a publishing contract from Kindle Press.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an author?
The best: Fan mail! I love when someone tells me how much they enjoyed my book, and that they couldn’t stop thinking about the characters and / or the story; that it touched them in some way, making them laugh or cry. I feel my characters deeply, and it’s very rewarding when someone else catches that same feeling.
The hardest: Discoverability, proving your work has been properly vetted, and having time to thoughtfully connect with bloggers, other authors, and readers. I have my inner circle, but quickly came to the conclusion that I couldn’t do everything. In my case, time is scarce and worth money. I pick and choose as I see fit, knowing that the price could be less readers who find me. Also, getting reviews! Please, please leave one! It’s the best way to honor a book you’ve loved.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
What motivates me? Readership. Connecting. Impacting people’s lives in a positive way through my stories. Seeing one of my books on film or TV would be awesome, too. Oh, and did I mention hot guys with abs? (Kidding!)
Which book do you wish you could have written?
Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander!
The Caught Up in Love series is about three women from one family, their secrets, and their second chances at love. It’s kind of a Kerry Lonsdale meets Colleen Hoover blend of smart plots and edgy delivery.
The stories have underlying threads of redemption, hope, transformation, and sacrificing for the people you love. Family is a strong theme, along with how the dead play their part on the living. In each book, the heroine is shackled in some way to someone who has died.
That’s the gist, anyway! But it’s more than that. A tangential thread throughout the series is a crime syndicate investigation that brushes lightly against the family in every book.
Another reason to read this book and the rest of the series: It takes place in New Jersey! The books are set in towns where I used to live (Summit, Chatham) or where I’ve spent time (Morristown, Spring Lake). You can walk the steps of the characters in places like the Morristown Green, the Summit Train Station, the beach on Spring Lake, and more…
What inspired you to write the series? A particular person? An event?
LOL, yes and no. The first book in the series was meant to be a standalone novel. It’s a May / December romance about a widowed romance writer and a troubled young landscaper who she convinces to be her cover model when she spots him planting trees on the grounds of the local hospital. That was the inspiration, because it happened to me. Kind of.
In August 2013, I was visiting a close family friend when I spotted a group of guys planting trees, and one of them looked exactly like a character in the book I was writing. Unfortunately, I couldn’t muster the courage to stop. Missing that opportunity haunted me for months until it spun itself into a novel in my head and became Caught Up in RAINE (2017 IPPY Award in Romance). In the first chapter, Jillian stops the car, and offers Raine, a part-time college student, $300 to pose as her cover model. He accepts and the rest becomes their love story!
CUIR got me an agent, and when we decided to go on submission, the idea morphed into a series about Jillian, her niece Jenny (Shelter My Heart), and Jillian’s older sister, Kitty (featured in the third book, Surrender My Heart). Kitty’s story sprouted from two scenes I cut from the first novel at the advice of one of my editors, and became the book that anchors the entire series.
Since the series features heroines of different ages and blurs the line between Women’s Fiction and Contemporary Romance, we couldn’t find it a traditional publishing home. So I decided to indie publish, though Shelter My Heart was a 2017 Kindle Scout winner and received a publishing contract from Kindle Press.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an author?
The best: Fan mail! I love when someone tells me how much they enjoyed my book, and that they couldn’t stop thinking about the characters and / or the story; that it touched them in some way, making them laugh or cry. I feel my characters deeply, and it’s very rewarding when someone else catches that same feeling.
The hardest: Discoverability, proving your work has been properly vetted, and having time to thoughtfully connect with bloggers, other authors, and readers. I have my inner circle, but quickly came to the conclusion that I couldn’t do everything. In my case, time is scarce and worth money. I pick and choose as I see fit, knowing that the price could be less readers who find me. Also, getting reviews! Please, please leave one! It’s the best way to honor a book you’ve loved.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
What motivates me? Readership. Connecting. Impacting people’s lives in a positive way through my stories. Seeing one of my books on film or TV would be awesome, too. Oh, and did I mention hot guys with abs? (Kidding!)
Which book do you wish you could have written?
Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander!
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