Interview with Author Lauren Layne and Giveaway

Meet Lauren Layne, author of Crushed.

Lauren Layne is the USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance.

Prior to becoming an author, Lauren worked in e-commerce and web-marketing. In 2011, she and her husband moved from Seattle to New York City, where Lauren decided to pursue a full-time writing career. It took six months to get her first book deal (despite ardent assurances to her husband that it would only take three). Since then, Lauren's gone on to publish ten books, including the bestselling Stiletto series, with several more on the way in 2015.

Lauren currently lives in Chicago with her husband and spoiled Pomeranian. When not writing, you'll find her at happy hour, running at a doggedly slow pace, or trying to straighten her naturally curly hair.

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First off, can you tell us a bit about you?

Absolutely! I’m a thirty-something fulltime author living in Chicago with my husband and my rather adorable Pomeranian (Bailey). I’m probably not the most well-balanced person in the world … I’m a full-time writer, and I really do do it full time! For the few times when I’m not typing on my laptop or scribbling in a notebook, I’ve probably got a cocktail and my Kindle, or I’m on a run.

Did you always want to be a writer?

Definitely—it was always my dream job as a kid. However, I’m sad to stay it took me way too long to make it a reality! My parents and the people around me were highly practical, and I had it in my head that “real people” couldn’t make a living off writing. It took me until my mid-twenties to try!

What kind of writer are you? Panster or Plotter?

Mostly a plotter, although if I’ve been thinking about a story for a long while, it sort of feels like it’s already plotted in my head, and I don’t necessarily go through my full outline process. But for the most part, I have a very good idea of where the story is going before I start writing. I’ve never been one of those “go with the flow” types =)

Where do your ideas come from?

Ugh, ideas are hard for me! I know plenty of authors that have more story ideas bursting in their head than they do time to write them, but that’s not me! I tend to rely on classic tropes and then figure out how to put my own spin on them. If I’m being really honest, originality is the hardest part of the writing process for me.

A la Twitter style, can you describe your book (or series) in 140 characters or less.

An ugly duckling retelling, in which a jaded womanizer pursues a gorgeous tennis player only to fall for her curvy, mouthy little sister.

What are some of your favorite kinds of stories to read?

Anything romantic, really, but it doesn’t have to be the romance genre. I love a great YA sci fi with a romantic sub plot. Regency romances have long been a favorite. Oddly enough, I don’t read much contemporary romance—I think it messes with my head to write the same the same thing that I’m currently reading.

Do you have a favorite book and if so what is it?

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. It gets written off a lot as a political manifesto, but I didn’t read it that way at all. To me it’s a story about choice—we all get to choose the type of person we want to be. It’s seems so obvious, and yet up until I read the book I really felt like I was floating through life. Now I very actively shape the life that I want!

What are the scenes that are the hardest for you to write?

Anything in the middle of the book, really. The beginning chapters always go quickly as there’s so much set-up that needs to happen, and by the time I get to the last quarter, my fingers can’t move fast enough! But those middle chapters can be rough!

If you could have dinner with any three authors, who would you choose and why?

Kristan Higgins (hilarious), JK Rowling (brilliant), Ayn Rand (See above about my favorite book!)

Last question, are you working on anything right now?

Oh man, I have about four manuscripts in progress right now, and it’s kind of crazy. But the series I’m most focused on at the moment is my New York’s Finest series, out in July 2015. It’s about three New York brothers, all cops!

My author friends and I have been talking a lot about heroines lately, and how hard it is to get readers to like the female characters as well as the male ones! So I have to ask … what makes a heroine unforgettable to you?

Lauren Layne’s latest novel about the healing power of redemption tells the story of a crush gone wickedly wrong, proving that what you want isn’t always what you need.

Growing up in New York, Michael St. Claire never expected to spend his twenties wearing cowboy boots. But that was before he learned about his real father, a total stranger with a family in Cedar Grove, Texas. Once in the Lone Star State, Michael meets Kristin Bellamy, who is exquisitely refined and everything Michael always thought he wanted in a woman. The only problem is that Kristin is dating Michael’s new half-brother, Devon.

Kristin’s mouthy, curvy sister Chloe has always been in love with Devon Patterson. So when Michael offers to help Chloe break up Devon and Kristin, Chloe agrees to a deal that seems too good to be true. Before long, Chloe finally gets her man, only to make a startling discovery: She no longer wants the guy she had to fight for—she wants the one who stood by her side.

After all he and Chloe have been through, Michael swears he’s damaged goods. Can Chloe convince him that love is worth the risk?

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Check out the Redemption series:

 

Check out what's up for grabs.

Up For Grabs:

• 1 $25 Gift Card + Loveswept Mug & Nail Polish

To Enter: 

• What makes a heroine unforgettable to you?
• Please fill out the Rafflecopter form.

Good Luck! 

Special thanks to Lauren Layne + Tasty Book Tours for sponsoring this tour-wide giveaway.

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