JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Lisa Y. Watson, author of Interview with Love
(Urban Books)
No-nonsense consumer psychologist, Sienna Lambert, moderates focus groups to assist her clients with marketing their products to target audiences. Her newest client, Dexter Clothiers, has developed state-of-the-art men’s undergarments Best Kept Secrets that become more comfortable the longer they’re worn. Sienna interviews men from all professions and walks of life to get their opinion on the line.
When adrenaline junkie Vaughn Deveraux meets Sienna, he takes her breath away—literally. After a run-in at a client softball outing, Sienna assumes Vaughn is one of the new models for Dexter Clothiers. Vaughn tells her he’s the Creative Director at the company, advertising the line, and jokes that he leaves the modeling in the very capable hands of his younger brother, Pierce, a retired professional football player who’s had a great deal of experience with women asking questions about his briefs.
Though intrigued, Sienna keeps her distance when she finds out he works with her client, but Vaughn’s fun nature and zest for living prove too irresistible to ignore. Sienna’s once calm, predictable life gets turned upside-down when Vaughn shows her that sometime’s life is better when you experience it instead of researching it.
Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the inspiration to write Interview with Love?
Lisa Y. Watson: There’s nothing more inspirational than a deadline! I had just finished my debut novel, Watch Your Back and had a short amount of time before I had to begin on the next book.
Once I figured out what careers I wanted my main characters to have and that Sienna would be a Consumer Psychologist, I played around with the idea of her being this strict, no-nonsense “Rules Rule” type of woman who puts her job first and puts her love life way, way down on the list. She interviews respondents for a living, but the thought of Sienna having witty repartee with a man that she would end up falling for was intriguing.
JP: What sets Interview with Love apart from other books in the same genre?
LYW: My stories are multi-cultural. I try to ensure my books have universal appeal and that anyone can read them and be able to see that my characters deal with day-to-day issues just like they do. I also love travel, so there’s going to be some type of road trip in all of my books!
Whether I’m writing a Romantic Suspense or just a feel good contemporary love story, my characters are going to have a sense of humor. There will be some unexpected twists along their journey. Sometimes, laughter will bring you out of a rough situation as much as if not more, than, a good cry.
JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that led to Interview with Love getting out to the public?
LYW: Both of my books are available in most bookstores and on their websites. Black Expressions has picked up Interview with Love, and I’m on Amazon.com. Reaching out to Book Clubs is essential, especially for a new author like me.
Also, I have a wonderful support system. My family and friends are constantly looking out for me and talking my books up to people that they know. Also, I try to use the Social Media venues to promote myself and my books.
My work as Co-Publicist for the RT BookReviews Magazine’s annual Booklovers Convention has given me the opportunity to promote other authors attending the convention through Blog Talk Radio and other media outlets. I’ve learned a great deal about applying what I do for the convention into marketing myself as an author.
JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take you to start and finish Interview with Love?
LYW: Doing outlines is not my favorite thing, but they are a necessary evil to keep me on track. Usually, I do a brainstorming session to figure out what the premise of my story will be.
I have a critique group of about three of my closest friends that are also writers. They keep me from going down a path that is too cliché or overly saturated. From there I start writing, keeping in mind my outline.
How long it takes me to finish a book is truly dependent on what’s going on in my day-to-day life. I juggle my writing around my full-time job and family. I usually write in the evening after the house is quiet. Sometimes I’m fighting sleep myself, which of course makes it challenging.
I set aside time on the weekends, too, to get writing done. I was able to get Interview with Love to the pre-professional edit stage in about three months, but that was literally working on it daily.
JP: What’s next for Lisa Y. Watson?
LYW: I’m currently working on my next Romantic Suspense, Brace for Impact and another contemporary romance, Off the Market. From there, I have a few stories lined up. Probably the sequels to Watch Your Back and Interview with Love.
http://www.facebook.com/NCLisaWatson
http://twitter.com/lywatson007
I encourage all aspiring authors out there to believe that you can become published. Avail yourselves of the writers conventions out there. They are wonderful opportunities to commune with published authors, aspiring writers just like yourself, editors, publishers and other industry professionals.
Like the RT Booklovers Convention, most allow you to sign up for one-on-one author interviews with agents and editors. This gives you an opportunity to pitch your manuscript face-to-face, and if they are interested, they will ask that you send them a query or proposal. This gives you the opportunity to e-mail them directly or if mailing the proposal, to put “Requested Material” on your envelope. This gives you that all-important chance to get your foot in the door at a publishing or E-Book publishing house.
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