Interview with Lisa Ladew, author of One True Mate 8

by grant

in Author Interviews, News, Romance

21 May 2018

What can you tell us about your new release, One True Mate 8?

One True Mate 8 is the book written AFTER the scariest book release of my life. I took a gamble on One True Mate 7, writing it in a different style than I had before, really pouring my heart into Harlan and Evie’s story, and it was a true emotional roller-coaster ride, reviews and feedback included.

One True Mate 8, like any meaningful book in any meaningful series, is the culmination of everything that came before it, and a lot has come before it. Let me spoil it for you by saying, Jaggar and Leilani are two tragic heroes, but One True Mate 8 does them right. I had a reader say about it, “Romance at its finest, righting every wrong solely with the power of love,” and even though that sounds more lofty than I think my action-based paranormal romances deserve, I do love it.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

#1 Stephen King. Loved him, read everything he wrote from the age of about 8 to 30. His stories helped me through trials and tragedy.

#2, Kate Kent. In 2012 or 2013, she pointed me to a class that would teach me how to indie publish. I read it, ignored it, tried it, failed, pulled my early books down (they weren’t really books, more like attempts at books) and then released Edge of the Heat 1 on January 21st, 2014. That series did well enough that my husband could quit his job to watch our boys and I’ve been working like a madwoman ever since to find my niche and elevate my craft. Paranormal romance certainly seems like where I belong.

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

Wow. That’s a hard one, because I used to read very different books than I read now. I used to read horror but have not been able to since my first son was born. I had to give up that genre altogether because the world became a scarier place for me for a bit and, as I got used to being a mother, I couldn’t stomach violence anymore.

So in the age I would call “Before Joseph,” lol, my early childhood to age 30, the list would be:

1. Jaws by Peter Benchley
2. It by Stephen King
3. The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King

After Joseph:

1. The early Black Dagger Brotherhood books by JR Ward.
2. Every single Immortals After Dark book by Kresley Cole. Wowsa.

Oh yeah, and the Harry Potter books, too. All of them. Okay, sure that’s more than 5 but let’s call that bonus content.

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

Oh my goodness. Ok, I’ll play. Kresley Cole and “Will you be my friend?” lol! She’s really funny in her books and I just think she would be so fun.

What’s your favorite thing about writing?

Getting lost in the story. Laughing so hard at a character’s antics I can’t breathe. Talking with my besties and my readers in my FB groups about characters and plots.

What is a typical day like for you?

It depends on where I am in a story. If I have 20K written and a clear path to the end (around 80K), then my day is like this: get into the office, write, write some more, write some more, and then write some more. Drag home, put my youngest in bed, tap on the wall so my oldest knows I still exist, and try to pay attention to my husband a little. Maybe I’ll eat something in there somewhere. Kidding. I always eat and sleep and stretch.

Now, if I have just finished a book, my day is a little different, and mostly it consists of thinking about everything I should be doing on the business and maintenance side of things, and chatting to everyone in my life about everything under the sun and poking myself to, “write, write, write, get started on the next book earlier.” I also talk with Grace about the Switch of Fate series and sometimes edit or plot in that world.

What scene in One True Mate 8 was your favorite to write?

What a great question. Let me think about that. If you would have asked about One True Mate 7, I would have said where Harlan makes sure Jaggar overhears Evie telling Harlan, “I’m yours, I’ll always be yours and only yours,” but One True Mate 8, that’s a harder one. Hmm. Ok, I know: any scene with the catamount. I do love the catamount, she is one bad-ass-bitch.

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

LOL! Yes, I have like 4000. I am the consummate self-improvement seeker, notice I said seeker, not finder. I literally record things every day that I think will be my next great philosophy, and by the time I’ve written them down, I’ve already changed my mind. I think my motto *should* be, “don’t take myself too seriously,” oh, and “Never believe my own hype.”