You only started writing in 2015, but did you ever feel drawn to the career before? What were some of your dreams and aspirations as a child?
When I was little I actually wanted to be a politician. I was completely engrossed in politics and law, but eventually I grew out of that and decided to go to college for biology and neurobiology.
I don’t know if I ever specifically wanted to be a writer as a child, but I was always very creative and I love to read. When I was pregnant with my daughter I was just struck with inspiration and as I started to flesh out my ideas I thought “This would be an incredible career! I love writing.” Since then I’ve been doing what I love every day.
What was the first thing you did when you found out you were the #1 Contemporary Bestselling Romance Author? How did you celebrate?
I celebrated by writing more! But seriously I was so overwhelmed and my family was so supportive. I think my husband cooked something nice and we celebrated at home with the kids!
If you were given the chance to breathe life to any one of your characters, who would it be and why?
This is a tough one! I have a special place in my heart for Dominic Valetti, but I think it has to go to Anthony Valetti!
What does a typical day in the life of Willow Winters look like?
I usually get woken up by one of our two giant dogs (golden retriever and black lab) or by one of the kids. Then I make coffee. I have to have my French vanilla coffee before I can even function! I spend most of the day interacting with fans on Facebook or other authors trying to coordinate my day. I couldn’t do any of this without my PA, Cheryl Maddox. She’s the absolute best and without her I’d be overwhelmed. After all of that I try to sit down and write. It’s such a mad house with the dogs and the kids that writing can be tough.
How do you get the ideas for your stories? Do you like to follow a structured and planned storyline or just follow an idea and see where it goes?
I think I do a bit of both, but my writing is usually structured. I always start out with an outline of my story and I flesh it out from there, but there are times when I find something is really good and I embellish that and other times where I find something isn’t so good and I either rework it or cut it out entirely. My outline is usually very close to the actual story, but there have been some novels that I have an idea and I see where it goes from there.
What is the best thing you've ever bought and why? What is one thing you wish you could buy but haven't as yet?
I think the best thing I bought was my Sleep Number bed! Before that my husband and I slept on a terrible mattress that hurt both of our backs, but we really didn’t have the money to buy a new one since we had both of the kids.
I wish I could buy a new home! My husband and I bought this house when we were both in grad school and only had our golden retriever Jake. Since then we’ve had two kids and gotten a second dog, our black lab Charlie. Now I don’t have an office or space, but we are working on finding a new home so that I can have a proper office and the family can have more space.
Which author(s) did you dislike at first but slowly grow into?
Nope! I love romance and I haven’t met a romance novel that I haven’t fallen in love with yet!
Have you written any books on collaboration with other authors? If so, how did you find that experience?
I absolutely have! I’ve written with Lauren Landish, B.B. Hamel, and Vivian Wood. Each author approaches writing differently and I was surprised at how easy it was to write with each one. I would definitely collaborate again with each of them.
Describe your dream wedding where money is no issue.
I had my dream wedding! We were married in a converted farm that was beautifully redone, underneath a huge oak tree by a small river in front of all of our friends and family. Our reception was incredible and everything went right (except the flowers down the aisle… I wanted them spaced out differently).
Name one thing you'd never be willing to give up even if it meant becoming the best author on the planet.
My husband and my two kids!
What do you miss most about your childhood? Tell us about one of your favourite childhood memories.
My favorite memory is swinging on my grandma’s porch swing with my sister. We would always bang on the window with the swing and get yelled at! I miss the carefree fun I had with my sister now that we both have kids and jobs we can’t spend as much time together.
How do you normally choose the names for your characters?
I actually asked my husband for guy names or Italian names for the Valetti series. I normally bounce names off him or my collaborators for a bit until a name sounds just right!
What is your worst pet peeve? Do you have any odd habits that others may find annoying?
I can’t stand when people chew with their mouth open. It drives me nuts!
I have some odd habits, but one that someone may find annoying is my need to sleep with ear plugs in every night. My husband has told me that it is incredibly hard and frustrating to try to wake me some times because I can’t hear at all with them in.
If you could go back in time, what advice would you give to your younger self?
I would go back and tell my younger self to keep pushing and stay motivated. Everything might not work out as planned, but everything turns out great. There will be some hard times, but believe me it is worth it.
What’s the best way to market your books? Has your experience with AllAuthor up to this point been satisfactory and would you recommend this website to your other author friends?
I’ve found that spreading out advertising over a ton of sites works the best and AllAuthor has been incredible in helping to spread the word of my new releases!
