Adriana Locke Interview Published on: 21, Dec 2019

I was born in a very small town in southern Indiana. I graduated with 24 other kids, most of which had been my classmates since preschool. I moved away for about ten years, first to Phoenix and then to Ohio. I’m back home now.

I wanted to be so many things when I was a little girl. Everything from an attorney to an archaeologist to a painter. There was a time I wanted to be a writer too. I was just interested in so many different things that it was hard to narrow it down.

Reading has unlocked my imagination, taught me new things and perspectives, and transported me into new worlds. It’s been my love, my inspiration, my escape all of my life. That’s the thing I love about it more than anything—you can find whatever you need in the pages of a book!

The first book to make me cry was The Edge of Never by JA Redmerski. I remember my husband coming in and thinking that someone had died. It was ugly.

I write contemporary romance to give a little hope to a world that needs it. To make someone smile that’s someone sitting in their car during school pick-up or in bed while their husband or wife is working or maybe next to a sick child at three in the morning. To be a “safe place” for someone to go when they want to feel good.

Many of my stories, if not all, were inspired by something that happened in my real life. This is true of Sacrifice most of all. I was at my oldest son’s very first middle school wrestling meet and another wrestler got injured. That moment sparked the idea for Sacrifice.

I’ve written everywhere. Lots of my books are written at wrestling meets and baseball games. I do prefer quiet, though, and if I’m home, I like to write at my desk.

I actually find it quite fun and not too hard. Each character really takes on their own personality and it’s fun to get to spend an extended time with them.

That series is inspired by my love of small towns. I think people that are from smaller communities always find themselves drawn back for one reason or the other. It was that idea that spawned the idea for Tumble, the first book in that series.

If I’m reading a book, the most important thing to me is that it’s entertaining. I want to be swept away from reality. If it does that, then it’s a winner.

I do self-edit and proof my own work, but I certainly have people that do those things for me as well. The one thing an author should never, ever go without is an editor!

Camilla is really just a figment of my imagination. I wouldn’t say there’s one person that she’s really based on.

WIL came to me in a dream. It’s the only story that I’ve ever dreamed about. I woke up and wrote down the concept but didn’t know how to start it. A few days later, my husband came home from the grocery store and had found a cell phone in the produce section. It was an ah-ha! moment.

Oh, wow. I’m not sure. It’s always rewarding when a reader really connects to something I’ve written or when someone says one of my stories got them through a tough time in their life.

I read everything. Biographies, magazines, cookbooks, women’s fiction, mysteries—you name it and I read it. I still subscribe to our daily local newspaper and read it front-to-back every day. Ha! And top three books? Gosh, I don’t think I could name them without feeling guilt for every other book I love.

I’m starting two new series right now. Both will debut next year (2020). I’m super excited about them and hope my readers love them as much as I do!

My heart is really in romance, so I don’t expect to switch genres. I hate to say never though!

I found it on Google, actually. And it’s been a great experience!