Author Interviews: Laura-Elise, Matthew, and Brittany
Laura-Elise Bishop
If you publish/write under a pen name, how did you come up with it?
It’s a combination of names that are family names and meaningful to me.
Tell us a little about your book(s) like its title, genre, and where readers can find it:
My debut novel, The Ivy House, was released in November. I write contemporary fiction, where the romance isn’t always the biggest part of the story. The Ivy House is about a young woman repairing her fractured relationships with her family, finding her feet in her first job, and falling in love with a mysterious man, who is as guarded with his heart as she is with hers. It’s available on Amazon and until April, is part of Kindle Unlimited. It’s the first book in the Wilder Hearts series of linked standalones. The second book, Incomplete Strangers released in June.
What does your writing routine look like? Silence or noise, pen or computer, snacks and drinks, time of day, etc.?
I work four days a week, and I have a young son, so writing is squashed in around that. I HAVE to have my noise cancelling headphones on, and I make a playlist for each book (they are available on Spotify) and that helps to get me in the mood. I always write on my laptop as I can change things as I go. I can get really absorbed in my writing so I keep a cup of decaf tea or a glass of water in my eyeline as I will forget to drink otherwise. My favourite time to write is early in the morning when it’s sunny.
Plotter, pantser, or in between?
I will often think up a scene, then I’ll write and keep going until it stops, and then work out what happens next. I’ll do this until I run out of ideas, then I’ll go back and plan the whole story from start to finish.
Where do you keep your writing ideas? Notebook, phone, email thread?
All of my writing is kept in folders on my laptop. I make one for each book, but I have some documents like a series timeline and family tree that relate to the whole series. If I get random ideas when I’m out and about they go on a new note in my Keep app and I sort them out when I remember to!
Who reads your writing first? Your spouse, friend, CP, etc.?
My best friend is usually the first one to read my books. She gives the best, constructive feedback. Once it’s met her approval, I have the BEST group of critique partners and beta readers that will have a look next. My mum gets involved at the final stage as she is a great proofreader.
Does reading help you write or distract you?
I love reading! I read a lot, and it definitely helps me. I try not to read the exact same thing that I write so that I don’t get distracted, but reading broadly across various genres allows me to see other writing styles, different perspectives, pacing, and plots.
What (if any) research went into writing your book?
I’ve done different kinds of research depending on what the book needs. The first book I was fortunate as I have worked with jewellery (the FMC is a jewellery maker) and my husband is a DJ (as is the MMC) but I did a lot of research into the songs that are featured in the book to make sure that they had all come out at the time of the book (it’s set in 2012). For my current WIP I had to do a lot of research into smuggling and shipwrecks.
Being as specific as you want, who is your target audience?
My target audience I believe to be women who are looking to be taken on a journey. The books are set in multiple locations, and the FMCs discover a lot about themselves and the world around them as the story progresses. Sure, they fall in love along the way, but they gain a stronger sense of self and their place in the world at the same time. That’s why I wouldn’t put an age bracket on my target audience. One of my beta readers is in her early 20’s and she loves my books. Another one of my readers is 85!
What advice would you give your earlier self?
Slow down! When I was writing The Ivy House I was so desperate to get it out there, that I rushed it and made mistakes and had to delay the release. Now I know that allocating the right amount of time for each stage of the process is so key. As is having the right team of people around you. The ones who will have the easy and the hard conversations with you.
What monetary or numerical goals do you have for your book?
I would like to break even on it, so I could recoup my initial investment (which was kept low as I just did not have a lot of money to put into it). In terms of numbers, I have dreams of selling over a thousand copies, but we’ll see!
How long did you work on your book from the first idea to the date of release?
Years! Literally years. I had the first idea when I was 19. I worked on it on and off for years, then in 2020 I got serious and started to write it properly. I wrote the first draft, then had the idea for the second, third, and fourth so by 2023 I had the first drafts of four novels, but no completed ones. I worked on the first draft from September 2023 until it was published in February 2024.
How did you decide on your publishing method (self, indie, trad, etc.)?
I decided I wasn’t brave enough to query my book with agents. I researched indie authors and decided that was the way to go. I’ve met the best group of other indie authors and have learnt so much along the way.
What else do you want to share about yourself or your writing?
Writing for me is very immersive. I’ve always loved reading as I love to sink into another person’s world and perspective, to go through their lives with them and that’s what I try and achieve with my writing.
Where can readers connect with you?
My Instagram handle is @laura.elisewrites and my debut novel is available on Amazon right now!
Mathew J. Lewallen
Tell us a little about your book(s) like its title, genre, and where readers can find it:
Hey everyone, I’m excited to talk about Orbital Maneuvers, the kick-off to the "Skyward Frontier" series I’m working on. It's science fiction with a heavy dose of hard science, thanks to my background as a career air traffic controller and studies in aerospace science. If you’re into eBooks, you can find it on Kindle Unlimited. For those who prefer a physical book, check out Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online retailers.
What does your writing routine look like? Silence or noise, pen or computer, snacks and drinks, time of day, etc.?
My writing routine is pretty simple: early mornings, a quiet room, and maybe some instrumental music to keep my thoughts in line. A cup of coffee to start, and then it's just me and my computer. I plot everything out—like everything. Before Orbital Maneuvers even started, I had the series and each book mapped out. It’s my first novel, but I've done a lot of structured writing for research papers, and that carries over to how I write fiction.
Where do you keep your writing ideas? Notebook, phone, email thread?
When it comes to keeping track of ideas, I’m all digital. Each project—whether it's for my Ph.D. or the next book in the series—has its own Word file. If I have an idea and I'm not at my computer, I'll send myself a text and sort it out later.
Who reads your writing first? Your spouse, friend, CP, etc.?
Before anyone else sees it, my work goes through two editors. They were a big help with Orbital Maneuvers, and their feedback was gold. If the book does well, then I will be doing the same process in the future.
Does reading help you write or distract you?
Reading is more of a luxury for me these days, but when I do, it's mostly non-fiction. It’s not a distraction, though; it fuels my writing with facts and details that I can spin into my stories.
How long did you work on your book from the first idea to the date of release?
I spent about ten years brewing the idea for Orbital Maneuvers, somewhere between my first day controlling air traffic and starting my education. So, there's a lot of real-life experience in there.
How did you decide on your publishing method (self, indie, trad, etc.)?
As for publishing, I went the self-publishing route. It seemed like the best way to get started, and honestly, it's been a great learning experience.
What else do you want to share about yourself or your writing?
Beyond Orbital Maneuvers, my goal is to write stories that mix truth with fiction in a way that's engaging and thought-provoking. I want to inspire people to look at the world—and beyond it—in new ways.
Where can readers connect with you?
You can reach me on social media @skywardfrontier for updates and more about my work. Let's chat about space, flying, or whatever else is on your mind.
Brittany Prime Gilmore (B.P. Gilmore)
If you publish/write under a pen name, how did you come up with it?
As a child of the internet coming up back when we still had email addresses like “PurplePointStar@hotmail.com” and were told using our real names was reckless and dangerous I knew I wanted a layer of separation from my actual identity. I also wanted to be able to bring the family I’d built streaming on Twitch along for my new adventure into writing (if they wanted to come) so a pen name seemed the way to go. I chose B.P. Gilmore because my screen name for a long time has been Prime Intellect, so Brittany Prime, and the Gilmore is special to me, but we’ll leave a little mystery behind the why.
Tell us a little about your book(s) like its title, genre, and where readers can find it:
So, legend has it that one day I decided to write a book and that I’d do 5000 words a day until it was done, and I did that. Unfortunately, that book is no longer available as it was more of a learning process than a wholly realized member of my body of work.
So I’ll tell you about my first official book (out now!) Power Play. It is a hockey romance and when I wrote it I had three main goals.
1. I wanted to represent a healthy, passionate true triad relationship where the male-male romance was as beautiful, compelling, and romantic as the male-female parts of the triangle.
2. I wanted to take up space as a well-loved plus-sized femme body by making a bad-ass, gorgeous, deserving of lust and love plus-sized main character.
3. I wanted to bring diversity to my books with a black FMC and diverse MCs.
In general, you can probably expect every book from me to feature a fat black woman who loves her body and attracts incredible, successful hot as sin men who love it too.
Power Play is a story about loving yourself, and finding value in who you are as an individual to build strong relationships. Healing yourself, being beautifully flawed, but working to be the best version of yourself and being deserving of love despite being a work in progress. I like to use unhealthy relationship dynamics I’ve seen or grown from and healed from in my own life as the antagonist to my story. On the surface for Dani it might seem like her enemy is a jealous woman and a cheating ex but the true evil force in my book is the isolation and demoralization of that ex, the expectation of not having your needs valued or met. The viewpoint of that jealous woman using her own insecurities as a weapon to try and tear another woman down for how she looks rather than who she is. Then, like any good romance, vanquishing those villains!
What does your writing routine look like? Silence or noise, pen or computer, snacks and drinks, time of day, etc.?
I am a chaotic person. The closest thing I could say in terms of writing routine or habits is I get a lot of work done while nap-trapped by my 2-year-old, or at 2am when I’m trying to sleep. It’s 2:26am right now by the way haha. I write on my phone a lot despite the fact I’ll probably destroy my hands writing novels like I’m blowing up the group chat, all thumbs, and regret. I also apparently for the life of me can’t work in the winter and get my best creative bursts in March and April!
Plotter, pantser, or in between?
My first ever novel, which we don’t talk about now was entirely pantser and it was a mess. The idea was awesome, the world was cool, the characters were a little boring but sweet and the pacing was a godsdamn disaster. Fortunately, after I wrote that book I reached out to Katee Robert who gave me the literal best advice of my career. She recommended two books to me, Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes and Becca Syme’s You’re Doing It Wrong and full disclosure You’re Doing It Wrong is still on my TBR but Romancing the Beat changed my life. So now I am a plotter. I plot my beats anyway, and then the rest is all vibes.
Where do you keep your writing ideas? Notebook, phone, email thread?
My husband is my producer and editor so we have a discord server where I just dump ideas and then he can act as a man in the chair!
Who reads your writing first? Your spouse, friend, CP, etc.?
My husband 100% and then my amazing author friends before it goes to ARC readers!
Does reading help you write or distract you?
I will either read a book a day for 3 weeks and not write at all or write every day and not read unless it is my one comfort book, Electric Idol. I have no concept of balance so I’d say reading helps motivate and lets me build ideas but then when it’s writing time rather than brainstorming time, I can’t read other books unless a bestie has an ARC or release day, then I’ll take a day off my reading exile to read and celebrate their work.
What (if any) research went into writing your book?
I did a lot of hockey research, I also had a sensitivity writer help me with the Quebecois and history of certain language choices. Otherwise, I write a lot from the heart or memory. When I was in grade eight, all I wanted in the world was to be an author and my teacher told me that authors write what they know, and at that age, I knew nothing so he told me to go out and live. In hindsight maybe not the best advice but I took it to heart. I traveled to world, moved to NYC, moved to LA, sold everything I owned to go couch surfing for a year etc., and in general spent my 20’s being a little wild, anything for the story. Become a fauxcialiate, sure. Date a touring musician twice my age, why not? Date a celebrity chef who drove a car through our AirBNB? Reasonable choices. So essentially, I don’t have much to show for that time in my life besides a cursory knowledge of a lot of random things and places, so I try and use them for my books so my youthful decisions don’t seem so dumb.
Being as specific as you want, who is your target audience?
People who don’t usually see themselves in the romance genre. I didn’t see myself represented in a book until 2022. Not that they didn’t exist, just that I didn’t know to look for them, so I want to find my fellow queers, my fellow fats, and my fellow POC’s and I want them to know they are worthy, they are sexy and they deserve the happily every after.
What advice would you give your earlier self?
Write a bad book. I put off writing for so long because I didn’t think I was good enough. Like one day I’d suddenly just write a best seller. But for most people, that’s not how it goes. Writing is a skill, and like any good skill you need practice and muscle memory and you need to get in the habit of finishing something. If you start a thousand books but never stick it through because you decide it’s not good enough, then when you finally write a killer opening, you won't have the experience to land the story. So, just do it, write the book, good, bad, whatever. Perfection does not exist and people need to get in the habit of writing and releasing bad books. If I hadn’t have written and released my first, now unavailable book (Scorpio Rising) then Power Play wouldn’t be as amazing as it is! My current WIP is already even better than Power Play.
What monetary or numerical goals do you have for your book?
Right now, I’m working on a collaboration with an amazing content creator and full-time spicy worker named Rhysensual called Five-Star Boyfriend and my biggest goal is to be able to afford an amazing cover photographer he recommended so we can have him as the cover of the book and hire an artist to do the discreet cover for us. Long term I would love to have a career in writing, but mostly I just want to make enough to give back to the arts. I want to be able to hire artists and creatives and collaborators and help build up good people.
How long did you work on your book from the first idea to the date of release?
About two months.
How did you decide on your publishing method (self, indie, trad, etc.)?
I wanted my work out there so I could get feedback and gauge where I was in terms of actually being able to tell a good story, so the querying process seemed like it was going to hold me back in my quest to develop my writing skills and tell my stories. I queried for about 4 weeks while we did final edits and sent off the ARCs and then when I got the rejections I put it out myself!
What else do you want to share about yourself or your writing?
Writing is genuinely one of the most incredible and fulfilling things that I have ever done. I want to write all my amazing romance ideas over the next decade or so, and there are a LOT so stay tuned folks and then I plan to move to a YA series so that when my daughter is old enough to start reading there can be a series that will make sure she knows as soon as she enters the world of books that she is welcome, she is enough, she is valued, she is loveable, she can be the hero of her own story and she can slay dragons. Because we are in a world right now where we need to raise dragon slayers.
Where can readers connect with you?
@brittanywritesromance on the clock app, the picture app and the thread app or B.P. Gilmore on Goodreads!
