You have been writing for quite a while and have a very devoted fan base- how do you manage to keep your mind producing original books as often as you do and your readers entertained.
(to view the live interview, click here).
How does the creativity continue to flow and your character's original?
The characters are real people to me. I often shock people when they walk up and start asking me questions about a book and I can pop right into the character. My characters are like my crazy cousins. Each story is a new opportunity to take the reader on a fun journey as the characters find their way to love, hope and family.
Does being an academic help your writing? Do you sometimes go against convention?
I often go against convention for the genre, but I never omit the standard elements for romance, character or story ARCs. I love to drop the reader into the situation and allow the back story to fill as the story develops.
What is actually intentional in your style? Do you have a formula or touches that say Olivia wrote this?
The intention in my style is a history lesson, a moral dilemma and a geography lesson. Usually, and that is eight times out of ten, when you read one of my books, that restaurant on Route 66 Is actually there, or if you’re coming down Daniel Webster Parkway and make a right on Main Street in that little town in New Hampshire, the City Clerk’s office is actually there.
I don’t have a formula per se, but there are certain turns of phrases and word plays, which lets the readers know, oh yeah this is an OG book. I think the funniest scenes in my book which are side busting funny, are the things you’ve seen in your everyday life and people can relate to it. That is the funny element.
What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
Book covers for the Mail Order Bride series. It has a certain feel.
What does literary success look like to you?
I haven’t run out of fresh stories. When I run out, then I’m out.
We have chosen three series and one single book to discuss a little more in depth, nothing elaborate just what went into the concept and crafting of each. Do you have a secret to keeping them going and not repetitive or bleeding into the other?
I am a plotter. I sit down and draft an outline. It is hand written and muscle memory is also a thing. If I feel as if my hands and doing the same plot, then I stop. I have written books and by Chapter Three, the character is like, that’s not my story. It happened with Lobsters, Bisques and Berries, and the story that Melody wanted me to tell about her journey was a heck of a lot better than what I came up with.
Let's start with plot and storyline for the hotness that is “Thursday’s In Savannah”
What if…the day you get engaged to the “safe bet” you meet the man who feels not so safe, give you butterflies, and immediately, this is what you want to give it a go. Right, wrong or indifferent, what if you take the chance?
Next is the plot and storyline for “The Technician” series.
What if…the men and women at The Continental in the movie, John Wick, also got married. Then I have half a bottle of Stella Rossa Black.
The what-if got a lot bigger.
What if…these men who are dark, brooding, and trained assassins, get families? The unwanted, broken people, who may not be broken after all, and get a second chance.
What if…the Archangel’s ministry to do what he feels is God’s work by bringing these children to a protector that will make them grow into productive citizens versus creating more people to feed into the penal system.
Next is the plot and storyline for “Modern Mail Order Brides” series.
Please give some background on the owner of the matchmaking company - she is phenomenally mystical and amazingly amazing! Is she the same ancestor on the wall? Meaning is she an immortal?
I was having lunch with a fellow author and we were talking about Mail Order Bride books. I jokingly said, I’m going to write me a mail-order bride series and all of the women are going to be black and marry these men who have camp toilets and live off the land. I played with it with Tatalavisha and My Mail Order Wife and loved the feel of what I could with the series. Each book is a stand-alone. I can catch the readers up on other couples, and introduce couples that don’t get a book like Lorelei and her toothless husband.
Next is the plot and storyline for “The Delgado Files” or “The Blakemore Files.”?????
The Blakemore Files were a fluke. I started writing it, because I was getting complaints that my books had too much sex. So, I wrote a series that had none, with the exception of Book 6 and Eduardo. I needed some alone time with him. The Blakemore files I used to learn to write action-adventure and work on my storytelling skills. The Zelda diaries I created to work on character development.
The Delgado Files is the combination of ten years of learning to get it write. I did that with Yunior. Yunior, in my opinion is the best thing I’ve ever written.
The Final Three
1. What is your favorite part of the writing process
Conceptualization. I start with What if…go to the grocery story, and by the time I reach the frozen section, I have the basic plot.
2. What advice would you give fledgling authors just starting off? What would you tell yourself?
Sit down and write. Too often, new authors get caught up in the book cover, marketing ideas, and everything else but finishing the damned story.
I would tell myself to write the entire series first, before releasing a single book.
3. As a reader, which one of your books would you recommend?
The funniest book I’ve ever written is Vanity’s Pleasure. “fuck me…what am I wearing?”
The sexiest book is Loving Words. Elsie and Wil in the kitchen… her standing in the fridge outline all that sexy.
The most sensual is Thursdays in Savannah. 5:30 am…
Again, you can watch the live interview here and hear all the other juicy details.