AUTHOR CRUSH FRIDAY: LISA BROWN ROBERTS
Glitter girls, you have pressing questions for your favorite authors and we have their answers. Welcome to our new weekly segment, Author Crush Fridays.
We love asking questions and we love the answers from some of our favorite authors. Today we’re talking to Lisa Brown Roberts, debut author of How (Not) Fall in Love (February 3, 2015; Entangled Teen). Thank you for talking to us today, Lisa! We’re honored!
GLITTER: In How (NOT) To Fall in Love, what was your favorite chapter/scene to write and why?
LISA: I loved writing the chapter when Lucas finally, sort of, asks Darcy out. Only it’s more of an “undate” since he asks her to babysit his little sister. I loved making this super confident, sexy guy stutter and stammer, and showing Darcy’s dawning realization that he’s interested in more than friendship.
GLITTER: As a debut author, what has been your favorite part of the road to publication?
LISA: All the fantastic people I’ve met! The past year or so has been a whirlwind! After contracting with Entangled in 2013, I attended the national RWA conference and met tons of romance authors, and had lots of fan-girl moments – like when I accidentally closed the elevator doors in Susan Elizabeth Phillip’s face – eek! I loved the “Day of YA” event put on by YARWA, the online RWA chapter for writers of YA romance.
I also attended Entangled’s annual author conference in Las Vegas and had a blast hanging out with other Entangled authors and meeting the amazing Entangled staff.
As writers, I think we tend to live in our writing caves, but connecting with booklovers – other authors, readers, bloggers- that’s very motivating. I’ve been involved in local writing organizations for years, but last year I pushed myself out of my local comfort zone and I’m really glad I did!
GLITTER: Where’s your favorite place to write?
LISA: Okay, this is weird, but probably my car. Seriously. I can write anywhere; I have to, because I juggle a full-time day job, a family, and writing. My house is small and I share a home office with my husband, which is sort of like sharing space with ten people. I also write in libraries a lot, and coffee shops.
But there’s just something about my car…I listen to my book’s playlist and get into my groove. And mostly no one bothers me in my car office. However, more than once I’ve been approached by police or security guards checking to see if I’m okay.
GLITTER: What character do you relate most to?
LISA: Probably Darcy, my heroine, though she’s much stronger and braver than I was at seventeen. I relate to her shyness, and reluctance to use her “outside voice,” to speak her truth. But finding her voice and her inner strength is what saves her, and her family. It took me a long time to find the courage to trust in my own voice, especially as a writer.
GLITTER: What is easier to write: The first line or the last line?
LISA: The last line. I always know how my novels end. Sometimes I even write the last chapter first, or very soon into the first draft, a trick I learned from Julie Anne Peters, one of my first writing mentors.
GLITTER: What one YA novel do you wish you had when you were a teen?
LISA: Oh wow. That’s so hard to answer. Just one? Okay- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky. Pitch perfect.
GLITTER: What are you working on next?
LISA: My second novel with Entangled Teen. It’s a YA romantic comedy tentatively titled Slacker Nanny Falls in Love. The school perfectionist and the school playboy are forced to work together for a summer job, nannying for two goofy little kids. Lots of chaos, chemistry, and kissing!
Lisa Brown Roberts still hasn’t recovered from the teenage trauma of nearly tweezing off both of her eyebrows and having to pencil them in for an entire school year. This and other angst-filled memories inspire her to write and read YA books about navigating life’s painful and funny dramas, and falling in love along the way. Catch up with Lisa at lisabrownroberts.com, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and Instagram.
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