To celebrate 13 weeks of winter, Hàlön Chronicles will be conducting one interview a week for 13 weeks. We’ve also partnered with additional artists and authors for a few surprises throughout the winter. Join us on the hashtag #13Winterviews, or check out our right-side blog hop to sneak a peek at who’s on the roster in the coming weeks.
Hosted by: K. J. Harrowick
Without further ado, Romance Author: Lexi Miles.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I was born in northern California and I’ve lived in various places in California and Nevada throughout my life. Tropical warm spots and out of the way ranches are my favorite escapes. I have one sister, who’s awesome, Cat. I am a proud pup mom of two mischievous Yorkies. They are handfuls and most definitely light up my life. I am a huge fan of positivity and I love it when I can help someone else smile. As far as writing, I fell in love with it from an early age and I still find that I fall more in love with it every day. I delight in having a good Netflix binge. I enjoy music (all genres), baseball, bubble baths, cooking, and long walks on the treadmill (aka working out). (Giggles)
What types of books do you write, and why?
I write romance that ranges from sweet (TV style romance) to sensual (fire-hot romance). I adore writing romance because it is what I grew up reading as a teenager. I love romance and feel that romantic love is one of the most beautiful gifts in life.
What were your early influences, and how does this manifest in your work today?
I absolutely, cannot stress this enough, LOVE the Sound of Music, Pretty Woman, Dirty Dancing, Anime, Soap Operas, and (all things) Disney. Each of those things have shaped who I am as a person as well as my writing. I’m an absolute believer in a happy ending; accordingly, I write HEAs (Happily Ever After Endings) in my written works romantic or otherwise. I believe in dreams coming true, true love, and happiness in life. In addition to that, I also feel like Goodies (Good People) should be rewarded with a good life and Baddies (Not so Good People) should get their comeuppance. Due to those beliefs re-enforced by my early influences, I tie each of those key elements into my works one way or another.
Are there aspects of the craft that excite you more than others?
The simplest answer is that I enjoy everything about writing! It really just depends on the day and what I am doing.
Take it being a day of fresh creation of the story that pricks at my mind that says it must be told, the selection of a character’s name, sharing fun pictures on Pinterest for my book boards so that readers can see inside the books, the actual shaping and writing of the story, the fun final editing process where the intricate editing is done and I can do the final read through like my readers will, and finally to chatting with my readers about it in person or connecting via social media (their feedback is thrilling). So again, even to the parts I did not mention, each little bit of writing is great fun along the way in its own special way. I deeply enjoy and am excited about ALL the aspects of it!
What books or websites are your go-to places while editing?
Off the top of my head I would say that my go-to places while editing are multiple resources. But specifically for the quickest and most up to date grammar rules and other clarification tools I give Google and Youtube a serious workout. (When in doubt, of the rule or the website/grammar source, I cross check the source with multiple listings to confirm the grammar rule or writing suggestion.) Other tools like Grammarly.com and similar tools of that nature are excellent for extra error checks before I have my editor review it. Also, bouncing ideas off of other writers, checking out a variety of published novels, and reviewing textbooks are all great resources I consult.
Tell us about your writing space (music/snacks/interruptions/etc).
As far as my writing space, I like to sit at my desk and often times do so with legs folded beneath me in a plush chair as I write. My writer nook is right by the window and my Yorkie pups are usually camped out nearby me. I love being comfortable when I write, so it is often cute and fun yoga wear time.
I tend to favor writing when it is absolutely quiet, or with the dishes or dryer on for a soothing hum, or music in my headphones. Those things help me to get into my zone and to really focus.
Returning to the music, often times I write scenes with music to match the mood or section of my story. I’ll cue up something sassy, rebellious, upbeat, extremely romantic (Marvin Gaye, Sade, Maroon 5 or something), sweeping and epic (Celine-ish), spa lounge relax vibe, tender, or…you get the point. Whatever music selection that fits the bill of what I am writing to drive the creativity.
As far as interruptions, I try to keep my writing time sacred aka blocked out and for a set amount of time. If—absolutely—necessary I will either move my window of writing to an ideal time or I will drown out those interruptions with my music. (Giggles)
Now about the snacks, I drink tea (iced or hot) and nibble on fresh fruit (apples, strawberries, etc.) and/or any chocolate something. I keep chocolate treats stocked in my kitchen for brain food. (Smiles Toothily)
Tell us about your current WIP or your latest book release.
I’ll briefly tell you about one of each if that’s okay.
THE ORDER OF MOONLIGHT is my latest book release that follows a young woman named Clair. I had a lot of fun writing this one because it is my first vampire love story. I usually write contemporary romance set in real world perimeters so this was such a fresh experience to delve into the magic side of things. I was able to re-imagine a few things about what was possible in the genre and it was such a delight. I also tossed in a few twists, fire-hot romance, and humor along the way. Here is what it is about.
 |
THE ORDER OF MOONLIGHT: Clair De Lune a young woman, who works at a small town café in the middle of nowhere, likes to live her life off of the radar. One afternoon that all changes when a wildly handsome mysterious suit wearing gentleman walks into her café. Intrigued to know more about the gorgeous enigmatic stranger, when he extends an invite to the masquerade ball later that night, she decides to meet him. Soon Clair finds that there just might be more to him than meets the human eye. Is Clair ready to step into his magical world of passion? |
One that is soon to be out, my Work In Progress (WIP), is DANGEROUS LISTING about a realtor named Piper. That one is a prequel to a book that I had been working on for the past year PRIVATE LESSONS about Piper’s best friend Dorian (Ryan). Both books are included in the SENSUAL PROTECTION Series about private security / self-defense. All books in the series are romantic suspense. Here’s what the book is about.
 |
DANGEROUS LISTING: A realtor named Piper rents out a listing and stumbles into a dangerous situation. She soon finds herself hold up with the ever sexy and mysterious Marko, and she’s not complaining. Is danger just the thing they need to kick off their sexy romance? |
To find out more about Lexi Miles’ novels, or connect with the author,
click on any of the links below. 🙂
 Novels Info: www.leximilesauthor.com/novels |
Website Amazon Newsletter Blog Lexi Rom Readers Press Page Twitter (@leximilesbooks) Goodreads |
Before you leave, don’t forget to check out all the amazing Winterviews Partners. 🙂
Love the interview and Lexi’s books sound steamy and amazing!
Awesome interview. This is a great idea. Always nice to get a look behind the scenes and learn about good authors. HEA’s are nice, not enough of those IRL.
Ahh the writing process.. if you dont love it, you’re gonna have a hard time writing 😛 I love the planning and outline phase, the posibilities are endless at that point a tiny bit less so when you got a solid outline and the story ‘should’ go a certain way. (of course, as the author, you can change what you want when you want) (there is just more freedom to throw darts at everything during the planning phase). Edits can be fun, right up until they’re not 😛
lol @ writing space yoga wear, wondering if they ever see any actual yoga 😛
Oo I forgot to mention that about music. Matching themes. Great idea.
I can’t say that Im a fan of romance novels but they say, don’t knock it, til you try it (So I should say I dont ‘imagine’ I’d like it). I guess I just have to find the right one. Dangerous Listing sounds like a place to start 😛