Interview with Alexis Abbott, author of Bound for Life

What can you tell us about your new release, Bound for Life?

Bound for Life was a story I really wanted to tell when I was finishing up the Hitmen series. I wanted to get more involved in a character’s life in depth, and really amp up the suspense and the thrills and, of course, the romance.

Serena and Bruno knew each other as teens, but then something terrible happened to pull them apart. Years later, and the Mafia is beginning to move in on Serena, which makes Bruno spring to action. Their feelings haven’t faded for each other at all over the years, but it’s hard to reconnect with the mafia breathing down your neck!

Who is your favorite couple from literature?

I’m gonna go straight for the (geeky) heart. Beren and Luthien from the Silmarillion (J.R.R. Tolkien). Star Crossed lovers of different people, never meant to live side by side, let alone as lovers. Family, friends and the dark lord himself all set upon them to ruin their love, but together they triumph all as a pair, even venturing into the pits of hell itself, always having one another’s back. I’m all about a couple who loves and respects each other, through thick and thin.

You’re hosting a literary dinner party. Which three writers are invited?

I would die to have dinner with Willow Winters, Alana Albertson, and Kim Linwood. There’s so many awesome authors out there, but I feel like the four of us would have an absolute blast! Hopefully at a future convention, we’ll get a chance to hang out.

What’s a typical day like for you?

I tend to wake up and immediately get to work! Whether it’s checking emails or social media, updating my ads or website, writing or editing… Then I tend to take a break during the afternoon to go for a walk in the local park with my husband and partner. I then usually try to do some more writing before relaxing for the evening. My husband and I play video games and watch movies together, so that’s what we’ve been doing lately.

What’s rocking your world this month?

Aside from Bound for Life? I’m going to be doing a lot of volunteering in my community to support people with mental illness and disabilities, and other vulnerable people. Plus I’m hoping to go on a mini-vacation out to my partner’s hometown of Bonavista, Newfoundland. It’s right on the ocean, and it’s absolutely breathtaking.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I feel like it’s a cliche to say I wanted to be a writer, but I so did. My parents weren’t very supportive and kept trying to rid me of the inclination, but I kept going back to it. When I was 16 years old, I met a boy online. We started writing back and forth, then sending love notes back and forth. Then those love notes became love stories.

16 years later — almost half my life — and I still write love stories with my partner

What scene in Bound for Life was your favorite to write?

Their first night together. It was so much passion, so much pent up feelings that they’d been struggling against for so long. I love those moments when it’s just… time. When everything has finally aligned, and the hero and heroine give in to all the things they were fighting, and allow themselves to be vulnerable and grow closer.

Plus, I just love writing sex scenes!

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

I have a lot! I struggle with mental illness, so I have to keep a lot of positive mantras. I try to focus on things that I can control, and remember the things that are important to me.

One of my favourite quotes is “When we can’t dream any longer we die.” – Emma Goldman. It reminds me that creativity, that dreaming, that hoping and striving… it matters. It means we’re alive, and it’s a way for us to celebrate our lives.

“One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for 1,000 years. To read is to voyage through time.” – Carl Sagan. Writing… reading… it’s magic. It’s really, truly, wonderfully magic. I’m so blessed to be able to help others travel through time and place.

Alexis Abbott is the author of the new book Bound for Life. 

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