Chissick Chat - part thirty-one - with Audrina Lane

Now that the festivities are over, the decs are away, and the diets have been started (or maybe not), let's start 2018 with an interview with the lovely Audrina Lane, a fellow Star Wars fan and romance author.

Welcome to the Chissick Chat Blog!

Please can you introduce yourself and tell us a little about yourself and your books?

Hi, my name is Audrina Lane and I write a range of Romance novels. I have The Heart Trilogy which centres around 1st love and 2nd Chances with flashback diary entries from the 1980’s. From this series sprung my current trilogy called Bloodstained Heart which tells the story of the evil character from the Heart Trilogy. This series is a dark, erotic romance.

Then I also work with another author – Rita Ames and we’re writing a trilogy of motor racing romances set against the three biggest motor races – the Le Mans 24 Hour race, the Indy 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix. Each book will be a standalone but with overlapping characters.

I also enjoy writing poetry based on whatever takes my imagination!

When I’m not writing I work full time for the Herefordshire Library Service where I manage the delivery of books to all the libraries and books to Nursing Homes, Schools and the elderly. I live near the scenic River Wye and enjoy long walks with my 3 black Labradors and am still doing plenty of DIY with my partner Steve on the house we bought nearly 10 years ago. I love eighties music and my favourite singer is George Michael and once a month a get rid of all my stress through 2 hours of barefoot dancing!

What, or who, inspires you?

The inspiration for my first novel – Where did your Heart go? Was partly the thought of turning 40 years old and my ambition to write a book. It is based on a story that I originally wrote when I was 19 years old and struggling to get over the break-up of my first love affair. The character James is well and truly based on my first boyfriend (even down to sharing the same name!) and the first kiss between him and my lead female Stephanie is actually my first kiss.

I also like to base characters on my friends and many of them have asked to be in follow up books, which is great fun to do. I really enjoy writing characters that are struggling with life and I can’t always promise a Happy Ever After as I don’t think real life is like that!!

Do you enjoy reading the same genre as the one you write in?

I enjoy reading all sorts of different novels and genres. Of course I enjoy a good romance and have read many of my fellow authors/friends books who write in this same category. My favourite is my editor Sarah Michelle Lynch who has managed to leave me with a book hangover that lasted 2 weeks after her Sub Rosa series.

My favourite authors stem from my teenage years and have stuck with me since then. Stephen King is my ultimate writing hero and I guess that although I have dabbled in a few supernatural short stories I have yet to tackle a full length horror novel – but there may be one to come!! I also have a soft spot for Margaret Mitchell and have read ‘Gone with the Wind’ about 4 times since I was 14, it is truly an epic, magnificent family saga even though I always want to give Scarlett O’Hara a shake at some of her choices through the story.

As you can imagine by tbr pile is rather large!!

Has any of your research taken you to an unusual place?

I am a huge fan of motor sports so getting to write a book set at the Le Mans 24 hour race was great fun. But I did need to research the track layout and some of the past races. It is the same with my current WIP on the next book in the series which is set at the Indy 500.

What are you working on at the moment?

I must be mad but I’m working on 3 different books at the same time. The first is the final part in my Bloodstained Heart Trilogy – called Redemption. This series has taken a while to write as it has to coincide with events and the timeline from my Heart Trilogy series. It is such fun looking at a scene from a different person’s perspective.

The 2nd is my collaboration with Rita Ames and is called ‘24Hrs to Heartbreak’ This is done with each of us writing as a certain character and writing alternate chapters. It is such fun to write like this and we hope to have it ready for release in May 2018.

The 3rd book started out as a short story for an anthology that never got released. One of my readers urged me to continue the story as she said it really touched her heart as it deals with anxiety, depression and dementia. I’ve set it in New Zealand as it’s a place I’ve been lucky enough to visit twice. I also suffer from anxiety and depression so it can be hard to work on this storyline sometimes.

What are your future writing plans?

Oh, I have loads of ideas, plot lines and even first chapters written. I guess my main plan is the write a Formula 1 racing series that will be called Chequered Love. I am researching this at the moment as although it will have a main theme of romance I want the back ground details to be authentic and true to life.

I also have started a paranormal romance called ‘The Midnight Librarian’ and also a black comedy about a tribute band and their rather dark way of getting famous. But who knows what other ideas might spring into my mind and onto the page.

Is there anything you don’t like about writing/being an author?

I guess, not having the time to write as much as I’d like as well as fitting in all the promotion needed to actually sell books.

Quick Fire Questions …

Tea or coffee? Coffee

Sweet snack or savoury snack? Savoury, I love crisps!!

Real book or ebook? Ebook as I mostly read on the go, but I also love paperbacks so if I am home then I’ll pick up one of those!

Cinema or DVD? Cinema, nothing beats seeing an epic film on the large screen.

Cat or dog? Dog

Weepie or action movie? Depends on my mood but anything with Tom Cruise is always a must and Star Wars of course (I’m a closet geek!)

And to Finish, What is your favourite …

Food? Can’t beat a good curry.

Drink? Gin and Tonic