Interview with Anastasia Alexander, author of Catalina Romance

What can you tell us about your new release, Catalina Romance?

Catalina Romance is a reality TV romance based on the Bachelor show genre. In the novel, the main character, Charissa, has men flown onto the island of Catalina to woe her. I just love the idea of having men, lots of attractive rich men, flown into an island to woe. This puts a new spin on the old song, “It’s raining men.” There is a twist though, the men decide if they want to pursue a romance, too. A real a romance happens when both sides say, “Yes!”

I traveled to Catalina Island a few years ago with my teenagers on a cheap cruise out of California. While I was there, I fell in love with the quaint setting and the beauty of the mountains, ocean, and land. I immediately called my husband and told him I wanted to come back and do a romantic getaway on the island. He agreed but then next day upon arriving home I was slapped with a divorce decree and found half my belongings emptied out of the house.

That wish of returning and exploring love on the island stayed with me. Lucky for me, several years later, I remarried.  I expressed my wish to my new upgraded husband and he immediately whisked me off to the island to make my dreams come true. We had an amazing experience. I truly found my Prince Charming, and I wanted my character who was going through a rough patch to find hers, too.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

When I was in six grade, during a recess in Idaho, the wind roared. I made up a poem about the wind on the spot and just loved how my feelings could be put to words. I was hooked after that. I just was enthralled with the idea of capturing more feelings and putting them into words.

What’s on your top 5 list for the best books you’ve ever read?

Wow, that is a tough question I always struggle to answer. I read all types of genres, but to name a few of my favorites:

The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane Moriarty

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Becher Stowe

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

 When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin

Say you’re the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?

Jodi Picoult. I would love to ask her: What impact does she believe best selling women novelists have on the way women define themselves?

What’s your favorite thing about writing?

I love when I tap into the flow, and I have swept away into another world where I can’t wait to find out what will happen and who I will meet.

What is a typical day like for you?

As a mom, wife, author, entrepreneur and adjunct professor, I have no typical day!  My days are all over the place depending on what is needed. I teach writing at the local college, so depending on how much of a workload I take on I will kiss my girl’s goodbye then teach in the mornings. At noon, I tend to follow up on business work and teaching until sleep overtakes me, and then I nap. I will then take a break and treat myself to working on my novel. Often will slip to my computer after my girls and hubby goes to sleep around 8:30 pm and I work until at least ten. The doc wants me to stop working then and sleep, but at times it is hard to pull away from the computer.

When I am not teaching, I often will sleep in until six am, spend some time with my girls, hit the treadmill, then the yoga mat before jumping into writing or coaching or prepping for teaching. I try to reserve my weekends for a lot of writing time because then I am restored to hit another week.

What scene in Catalina Romance was your favorite to write?

Wow, tough question. The earlier books in the Millionaire Romance series have a lot of humor. This novel has more heart because of tough issues Charissa is facing. Though, if I had to pick one scene, I’d pick when the men are first flown onto the island and Charissa is meeting them for the first time. There are some sexy men that she is dating and they do crazy things to win her love! One of them, Forester, kept stealing the scenes throughout the novel. I really like writing him. I already have fans asking me to give him his own dedicated novel.

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

Always make friends with tech support.

Anastasia Alexander is the author of the new book Catalina Romance. 

Connect with Anastasia:
Author Website