Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Widower's Aura: Interview with A.J. Renee

I always love getting a chance to pick an author's brain!  No, seriously, it's so very much fun.  Apparently, I have a knack for picking questions that really, really make them think!  I loved interviewing A.J. Renee, and her answers are fantastic.  Thank you for allowing me to participate in the blog tour for Widower's Aura!




1. What was your inspiration to start writing a novel?

I’d love to say I had this A-HA moment but I didn’t. One of my best friends died way too young. I couldn’t get over the fact that she never got her own real-life love story. Writing Widower’s Aura was my own grief therapy and giving her the love story she never got. Sofia, while fictional, was inspired in many ways by my friend.

2. Do you listen to any music or anything while you write?
I do! I created a playlist on YouTube that includes John Legend, Gavin DeGraw, Christina Aguilera and A Great Big World, Christina Perri, Sam Smith, Paramore, Ed Sheeran, Jennifer Lawrence, Anna Kendrick, and a few more. I need music I’m familiar with so I don’t spend more time listening to the lyrics than writing. I also listen to my 6, 4, and 2 year olds playing around.

3. What are some of your go to writing snacks, drinks, etc?
Tea! I love this Lipton Green Tea that’s Jasmin, Orange, and Passionfruit. I’m not big into snacks because I’d eat the whole pantry if I did but I do grab about two squares of Dove’s Dark Chocolate. My friend laughs at me because she says I’m weird for only eating 1-2. I guess most people would eat a handful? Oh well, I guess that makes me weird, nothing new there.

4. What is your favorite part about becoming a published author?
Seeing something I started two years ago grow from grief into a wonderful love story that I can honor my friend’s memory with.

5. How do you keep your tasks organized? Between family tasks and writing tasks?
I’m still trying to figure out this balance. My family has to come first but there are some days that I’m reminded I’m struggling to juggle it all. There really aren’t enough hours in the day.

6. Do you have a favorite character in your books? Least favorite character?
My favorite character is always the one I’m working on. They become living and breathing people to me, even if it’s only in my crazy head. Least favorite character, wow that one’s hard. I feel like I should say Slick but I can’t and I can if that makes any sense. I want to protect him after everything he went through as a child but as a mom I want to smack him upside the head and tell him to take responsibility over his actions. The fact that he blames others for the things that were clearly in his own hands makes me CRAZY.

7. What authors do you draw inspiration from?
My love of small town stories comes from Marie Force and Kathleen Brooks. My love of the suspense mixed in with the love story comes from Julie Garwood. R.L. Mathewson’s humorous characters inspire me to create characters who can be quirky or silly.

8. If you could meet one author for 24 hours, how would you spend it?
Oh goodness. Just one? This is a really hard question. I have so many authors I love. Kathleen Brooks. So I can drink some of her special tea from Keeneston. We could talk about her lovely batch of friends who exist in my life as real beings. It would also be pretty awesome to brainstorm what characters should fall in love next.

9. If your books were ever made into a movie, who would you want as the cast?
Another hard one, HA! For the record it took me about 2 hours to figure out this list.

Sofia: Olivia Munn
Noah: Josh Duhamel
Lexi: India Eisley
Jaxson: Nick Robinson
Lindsey: Emilia Clarke
Marc: Jay Hernandez
Jaime Lynn: Nikki Reed
Jesse: Boris Kodjoe
Sheriff Randy: Robert Forster
Annabelle: Megan Fox
Slick: Logan Lerman

10. What color best describes your mood throughout the day?
Something bright like red or orange. My life is pure chaos with little kids and trying to balance all the hats I wear.

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