L.A. COTTON: The Q & A

L.A. COTTON~Author

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Sometimes, you pick up a book because of a suggestion, you aren't sure what to expect. I was only a few months into Romance Bytes when Fate's Love was suggested to me. I said yes, I will read and review for the Blog Tour. Little did I know this book was going to suck me in. When I found out L.A. Cotton was a new author I was floored. The book and story are that good!  I fell in love with Livy and Ethan. I was talking to the book as I read and I know that's a good sign. Well, one thing let to another and here we are a few months later.

Thought I would take the time to share this short conversation L.A. and I had. If you haven't picked up her books, please do. You will NOT be disappointed.

RB:      How are you feeling? You have had a few busy of weeks leading up to the release of Loyalty and Lies.

LAC: I'm drained! Haha! Seriously, when I started writing and made the decision to self-publish I had no idea how much time it would take. Writing is the easy part, it's all the promotion and networking. I love it, but it can be hard finding the balance. I am SO excited about Loyalty and Lies though!

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RB:  Where did the idea for this book come from? Were you doing something random like washing dishes and the idea just hit you?

LAC: I can't really remember, is that bad? After I finished Love's Spark I started working Love Collides almost immediately, but then I had an idea for a YA contemporary (which I have shelved for the time being). And then I decided I needed to write something new. I love Fate's Love and Love's Spark - they are my book babies, but they were never going to be the kind of books that get people talking. I wanted that. So I started storming ideas... The result was Loyalty and Lies.

RB: By the way, as a fan I absolutely love the route you took with this book. What made you decide to go the route of the suspense/mystery instead of the contemporary?

LAC: I am a huge reader and I love a good angsty read with plenty of twists and turns. I wanted to write something that would appeal to me as a reader. It was also a personal challenge to step away from writing 'safe'. Hopefully I pulled it off.

RB:  Where the hell, did the idea of the evil two-some of Braiden and Briony come from? Evil they are evil!

LAC:  I'm not sure. I didn't plot much of Loyalty and Lies, I just let it come. I had some key scenes and plot points mapped out, but the rest just developed. Briony was never such a major player, in fact, I'm not sure she was even Braiden's twin to start with. But Braiden was all my creation. I knew I wanted to write the kind of guy everyone loves to hate, the kind of guy you know is a complete ass, but people still worship him anyway. I love to hate him!

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RB:     What or who inspired you to write?

LAC:  Honestly? Life.

I never grew up wanting to be a writer, although I have always been creative and had an imagination to match. Reading was always my preferred outlet, but one day (after a pretty crappy year) I had an idea for a story (Fate's Love) and wanted to see if I could do it.

Now all kinds if things inspire me. It could be a song, or an image, or a book I've read or a film I've watched. There's inspiration in everything!

RB:    If you could collaborate with any author who would it be and why?

LAC: Ahhh man, this is a tough one. Probably Tillie Cole. I just adore her writing, I love all of her books. She writes the kind of stuff I love to read and has the ability to pull you in and take you on a heart stopping ride!

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RB:  Do you have a favorite character in any of your books, or is it like children, you love them all equally?

LAC: I really liked writing Keefer, but I am rooting for Ana and Jackson.

RB: When did you finally decide “it is time to write and publish MY book”?

LAC:  About May time of last year. I'm good (virtual) friends with Stylo Fantome. She was gearing up to hit publish on Degradation. She was the first person to read Fate's Love and we got talking about self-publishing and she gave me a little nudge.

RB:  How do you pick the titles and story lines of your books?

LAC:  Titles… are hit and miss. Fate’s Love was always called that right from the beginning. Love’s Spark changed a few times, and Loyalty and Lies was just the title. All of the Fate’s Love series will have the word ‘love’ in them, and the titles for the other books in the Chastity Falls series will all follow a similar vein to Loyalty and Lies.

Storylines? That’s a whole other thing – and I have no single formula. It’s a bit of planning, a bit of dreaming up stuff, and a whole lot of agonising in front of the laptop.

RB:   Have any of your books included personal experiences?

LAC: Fate’s Love is inspired by how I met my husband. And I say inspired because it IS NOT the story of our lives in the least, but the idea of being destined to be with someone kind of rings true for me and Mr L. A. Some of the characters in Fate’s Love are also inspired by family members.

RB:  Character names, where do you come up with such unique names? I had never heard the name Briony, or Sharn, from Love’s Spark

LAC: I live in the UK so Sharn is an English name (although it’s usually spelt Sian). I was surprised to find out Sharn was not a name in the States, as I thought it was (and a couple of my beta readers HATED it) Oops! Briony was Briany to start with, again I thought it was an American name – turns out I’m not so good with the whole name thing.

RB: The Fate’s Love Series, is such a beautiful series. Each of the couples so far; Olivia (Livy) and Ethan and Sharn and Keefer; have sucked me in. Where did the inspiration for that series come from?

LAC: I think I said earlier, Fate’s Love was inspired by how I met my husband. Love’s Spark was an organic development. I loved Sharn’s character in Fate’s Love and it seemed natural to write her story next.

RB:  Covers. How do you choose the images to grace your covers?

LAC: I saw the image for Fate's Love on shutterstock and just had to have it. It was insta-love. Love's Spark was a A LOT harder. I wanted something the embodied the story - so baseball and a couple, but I also wanted it to complement Fate's Love. My covers for the Chastity Falls series were a different matter. I knew I wanted the same couple on all of the covers, so I had a custom shoot with MHPhotography. But all of my covers are something I'm proud of. They are all beautiful and a credit to the designer’s that created them (Kari at Cover to Cover and Natasha at Natasha Snow designs).

RB: What have you learned about yourself in the writing process?

LAC: I’m impatient! I want everything done yesterday; cover reveals, edits, hitting publish. I am also a perfectionist – the two do not go hand in hand

For me? Opening yourself up to criticism; people not liking the book, people wanting you to write something differently, people not connecting with the characters… the list goes on, and then some.

In reality, I’ve surprised myself, and I’m pretty good at brushing off negative reviews now. You will never please everyone. As long as I am publishing something I believe in, I am proud of, and that I would buy – I’m a happy author.

RB:  What is the most rewarding part of being a writer?

Seeing your book in the Kindle Store is pretty cool – I love it when someone tags me in a screenshot of my book on an Amazon recommends email. It still feels totally surreal! But the most rewarding part is definitely reader feedback. I am honestly overwhelmed every time a reader messages me to say how much they enjoyed my book… MY book!

RB:  Support system. How does your family feel about your career choice?

LAC: When I started writing I didn’t tell a soul, not even my husband. Then gradually, as I grew in confidence and realised I wanted to do something with my writing, I started to tell people. But I’m still not hugely out of the closet about it. They kind of just let me get on with it.

RB:   How do you balance mommy world and book world?

LAC: With the skill of someone who is about as organised as headless chicken.

RB:  What advice do you have for new authors?

LAC: Get a critique partner, beta reader, writing buddy – whatever works for you, but share your writing. I  was lucky enough to meet two fellow writers that read my early work and gave me the nudge I needed to believe in myself and my words. It can be hard to open yourself up to criticism (positive and negative) but it is a vital stage in growing as a writer, and continues to be vital for me. I share EVERYTHING I write with one friend in particular. I owe her a lot! Oh, and believe in yourself. Because if you don’t, no one else will!

RB:  Do you have anything you would like to tell your fans?

LAC:Thank you. A million times thank you. I would not, and could not, continue to publish if it wasn't for readers taking a risk on my stories.

Thank you so much for the time you have given me. I absolutely love your writing and look forward to reading what you publish next.  Continued success. Thanks again for hanging with Romance Bytes.